Memento Mori
by CryInSorrow
Summary: Ra's Al Ghul, Damian's formidable grandfather, is killed in Rome by Talia, after finding out about Kaden. Intrigued, Ra's sends a party to collect Kaden and greet him to the family. Collab w/ kate1zena - Part of the "Arkham's Red Hood" AU
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

 _"Lacrimosa dies illa/ Qua resurget ex favilla/ Judicandus homo reus."_ (Mournful be that day/When from the ashes shall rise/ The man to be judged) -Lacrimosa; Mozart

* * 8 * *

Below Dormus Aurea in Rome in a small alcove, a devilish scream pierced the stale, musty air as an aged man clawed to the surface of a pool of acid green liquid, eyes rolled back, green liquid poured from his mouth. The aged man desperately searched for the edge of the pool and instead found the hand of a black-clothed servant-who had been patiently waiting in the shadows. The servant pulled him out and offered him an immaculately folded white towel. The man, one Ra's Al Ghul, sneered, but took the proffered towel, dried himself and found his clothes folded in the same immaculate way in the corner.

 _"You'll not take Kaden, Father. He's not yours to take."_ Ra's tightened the belt on his trousers roughly as Talia's words echoed in his mind. _Not his._ It made his blood boil that his daughter thought she could order him to not do something.

Ra's knew Talia had hidden something-or someone-from him. He knew the signs; Talia started to withdraw, kept _secrets_ , went on mysterious missions that he didn't authorize nor would she debrief him on these missions and then-one day-she suddenly came back to him fine, but she'd never answer any questions. She'd done this when she was pregnant with Damian; he should have known something was amiss when she had become distant sixteen years ago.

He finished dressing and turned to his servant. "Get the plane ready," the servant bowed and silently walked off to make arrangements to return to Nanda Parbat, the League's and Ra's home high in the peaks of Tibet. The memory of his daughter's defiance and betrayal replayed in his mind.

 _Ra's stood in the study of his villa in Rome, looking out of the floor-ceiling windows, a glass of perfectly aged red wine in hand, a derisive look on his face as he watched the people below scurrying around like rats in a sewer. Ra's didn't move a muscle when he heard the double doors behind him open silently. He knew his daughter's tall tell walk too well; he simple waited for her to come to him, back towards her, for his daughter to tell whatever prattle she was going to tell this time. He knew not saying anything was the best way to undo her._

 _"You'll not take Kaden, father. He's not yours to take," Talia said defiantly, a few steps behind him, hand on her sword. Ra's glanced down at his glass, a pensive look on his face. He sipped the wine then slowly turned to face his daughter._

 _"Who, may I ask, are you to tell_ me _-Ra's Al Ghul, the Demon's Head-what I can and cannot do?" he asked in a calm, even tone. Talia remained where she was, expression darkening as she took a threatening step forward._

 _"Neither Kaden nor Damian nor I am yours to control. I suggest you learn to live with that fact. You'll not lay a hand on Kaden or-"_

 _"Or what, Talia?" Ra's interrupted with a slight smirk tugging at his lips. Talia stared her father down, holding his gaze in silence for several long moments before Ra's took a threatening step of his own. "You must think yourself clever. Believing this..._ child _to have been some secret from me these last sixteen years. You cannot hide anything from me,_ daughter _." Ra's, eyes still locked on his daughter's, took a sip of his wine. Talia gave a derisive snort, before turning on her heel and storming out of the room._

The next time he encountered her in Rome, she drew the family knife out and dug it into his brain, killing him. His loyal servant brought him to the little known Lazarus Pit in Dormus Aurea to resurrect him. It wasn't pleasant to die by his daughter's hand. He could no longer trust nor count on his daughter; he needed a replacement.

Bruce Wayne was old, and he would never use the Lazarus Pit. His grandson, Damian, was a failure, having fallen prey to Bruce's weakness. All of his training, all of his teaching, gone. Bruce seemed to have a nasty habit of turning people against him.

That left this... _child,_ Kaden Todd. The son of Jason Todd, a broken street rat of little value. Each of Bruce's protégés were talented, true, but none could measure up to Ra's high standards, not like Bruce had so many decades before. But Jason, he was especially... _inferior_...with his _anger_ and his _rage._ Any child of his could not possibly be of any value. But the fact Talia had given birth to his _child_? It sickened him. This _thing_ was a mistake, a blot on the Al Ghul legacy and it had to be dealt with immediately before it grew older.


	2. Shadows In Gotham

**Shadows in Gotham**

In the depths below Wayne Manor, sleeping bats hovered high above as two figures, Kaden and Jason, exchanged blows on the mats in the training room. Kaden-Gotham Academy's lead gymnast by day and Robin, Boy Wonder by night-back flipped several times to gain distance between his father and himself.

He breathed heavily, his father providing a unique challenge. His normal sparring partner was Damian; however, Damian insisted he learn to fight people with different skill sets. Jason's fighting style emphasized two things; brutality and speed. When he attacked, he was fast and he hit _hard,_ but Kaden could tell from the start that his dad was holding back. Kaden had seen his dad fight plenty and he knew if Jason _really_ wanted, he could break bones.

"So," Kaden breathed as he ducked a punch from his father, "you going to teach me any of that Krav Maga stuff?" Jason huffed, blocked a counter attack from Kaden and shoved the teen back with an open palmed strike to his chest. Kaden skidded backward but recovered quickly to side-step a kick.

"Not in this lifetime," Jason replied as he gracefully flipped backwards to avoid Kaden's spin kick. Kaden grunted as his leg swung at empty air; Jason surprised Kaden as he threw out a volley of punches.

"Aw, why not?" the teen grunted as one of his father's punches found purchase on his shoulder. He flinched as another punch landed, but avoided the third with a dodge roll forward. He was now behind his father which gave him an advantage.

"Too aggressive. Too dangerous. Too brutal," Jason answered, spinning in place to avoid a series of kicks and punches from his son.

"But-" Kaden managed to pant out when he reached the other side of the mat.

"No."

Jason charged for another strike and Kaden blocked the attack. As soon as fist met forearm, Jason spun, ducked to the ground and swept his right leg under Kaden's feet. Kaden grunted as he fell over backwards, legs swept from underneath.

The teen caught himself with his hands, spun around and pushed himself into a backward somersault. Having predicted the teen would roll to save himself. Jason threw an uppercut to Kaden's solar plexus as he started to stand. Kaden grunted as he collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath.

"Phew, getting better, champ," Jason panted, grinning proudly. He extended a hand to Kaden and helped the teen to his feet after he made sure Kaden was breathing (he had made sure not to hit _hard_ ), wiping his brow with his free hand. He looked the teen and himself over, just a quick scan; they were definitely going to have some bruises later and they'd be lucky if Dick didn't dope slap the both of them for being so damn stupid.

Kaden grinned widely at his father's compliment. His ego was given that extra boost when he saw that his dad was as sweaty and worn out from the match as he was. It meant he had improved from when he first started lessons.

"Defense could use a little work though. You're too aggressive; attacking when you should be defending and defending when you should be attacking," Jason said smoothly, wrapping an arm around his son's shoulders and leading him across the Batcave toward the lockers. He picked up a towel and dabbed his brow, tossing one to Kaden, who caught from the air, and flashing him a grin. "You'd have your papa screaming like a fan girl over those acrobat skills though." Kaden chuckled into his towel at the thought. Dick had lamented that he couldn't be there to watch his boys spar; the Blüdhaven Police Department had called him in on his day off.

"Yeah, but Papa is the best! I mean, I've been trying to pull off that quadruple flip, but it kicks my ass every time," Kaden lamented. Jason chuckled in amusement, arm draping around his son's shoulders as he pulled the teen to his side.

"Well, to be fair, Dickie's been doing that shit since he was, what, 5?" Jason replied with a snort. Kaden gave a light laugh as he raked a hand through his jet black hair. The two walked over to Bruce, who was busy monitoring Gotham on the Batcomputer, looking for signs of unusual and/or criminal activity. Damian stepped out of the elevator moments later with Alfred who was carrying a tray of tea and biscuits. Damian grabbed a cup and a biscuit, munching away as he approached them.

"Quiet night tonight?" Damian asked between bites. Jason and Kaden glanced back at him, the latter turning back to the computer, while Jason grinned at Damian and approached the younger man, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"Hey squirt-"

"Todd, I'm five foot ten-"

"And still shorter than me, short stack," Jason teased, earning an elbow in his gut.

"And I can still kick your ass." Jason snorted and put Damian in a headlock.

"Maybe in your imagination," Jason replied with a laugh. Damian growled, managed to escape the hold and not drop his tea. He glared at Jason and readied himself to kick him in the knee; Jason's knees weren't in the best shape. There were already discussions of surgery for his left knee; his right knee had been replaced last year after some lowlife in Crime Alley shot him. Jason's knees had gotten the brunt of Joker's torture. Well, those, his shoulders and his wrists. Damian knew exactly where to hit to bring him down if he wanted.

"Now, now. You're _hardly_ children," Alfred said smoothly, placing the tray beside Bruce. Bruce glanced up at him, flashing a smile before taking a cup of tea and turning back to his work.

"Yeah, no kidding. Todd's getting old," Damian jabbed, a smirk on his face. Jason grinned at him and moved toward him, Damian backing away and shooting a threatening glare.

"Not so old that I still can't put you in your place, midget," Jason answered. Damian opened his mouth to speak, but Bruce interrupted them.

"Behave yourselves," Bruce said with a hint of amusement. Kaden snickered, still facing the computer. Jason grinned, sneaked forward and put Kaden in a headlock, and ruffled his hair.

"What's so funny you little brat?" Jason asked. Kaden gasped at the sudden hold, grabbed at his dad's arm, and laughed as he tried to free himself.

"Ah, damn! Damn! Uncle, uncle!" he called out.

"Actually, I'm your father, but sure," Jason replied, and let the teen go. Kaden snorted and shoved the man playfully. Jason shoved him with his hip, a declaration of war. Bruce cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention. Kaden crossed his arms over his chest and quickly gave his dad a quick kick in the shin as a last reminder that the game wasn't over; Jason rolled his eyes at the old habit of Bruce's and gave his son a playful smirk before turning his attention to Bruce.

"For once, yes. A quiet night in Gotham."

"Well, that's a rarity. Are all the villains sick or something?" Kaden asked playfully. Damian snorted and leaned against the back of the well-worn black leather chair Bruce sat in and looked up at the screen.

"Doubtful. I'm sure something will happen at some point. Crime never sleeps in Gotham. Not for long anyway," he droned. Bruce glanced up at his son, briefly, before some surveillance footage caught his eye. He frowned and leaned forward a bit and rewound the footage.

"Is that-" Damian began.

"A League assassin. So it would seem," Bruce finished.

"What's the League of Assassins doing in Gotham?" Jason asked, lifting an eyebrow. Bruce's frown deepened as more assassins began appearing across Gotham. This caught everyone's attention because if the League was moving in such numbers, then something grim was sure to follow.

"I don't know," Bruce replied in a low tone. Kaden's face had paled substantially because he knew his mother was involved with the League. Did she know anything about this?

"Sorry, I'm late. Did I miss anything?" Tim called as he jumped the stairs two at a time. He hastened to the group to catch up.

"League assassins are in Gotham," Jason replied darkly.

"Why would the League be in Gotham?" _Dammit Kon, of all the days..._

"Maybe Mom can tell us what's up?" Kaden suggested. Everyone turned their attention on him, so he just gave a shrug. "Just an idea."

Bruce then turned to Damian and gave a nod, a gesture which the young man returned.

"Guess we're going out tonight after all," Damian said evenly. Kaden grinned widely as he went to stand by Damian, but Jason stepped between the two.

"No, Kaden, you're staying here," Jason ordered. Kaden's jaw dropped in protest.

"What?! But why?!" Kaden gasped; he loved going on patrol. Jason moved toward the teen and exchanged a look with Damian. Kaden looked over his shoulder at Damian and glared at him. "You too? Aw c'mon!" Kaden complained, disgusted with the whole ordeal. It was the whole Joker fiasco all over again! It's like his dad didn't trust him one bit! Jason placed a hand on the teen's shoulder and Kaden looked up at him angrily; he had that serious 'this is dangerous' look again.

"This is the League of Assassins, Kaden. These aren't ordinary criminals; these are _trained killers._ " Kaden quirked an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest, giving his father a stern look.

I've faced them before," Tim chimed, "they're not your garden variety criminals, Kaden." Jason was right, this would be _far_ too dangerous for Kaden and he didn't want to see anything happen to his nephew. Kaden flashed his uncle a glare, but Tim didn't so much as flinch; he'd faced down Damian at his worst, he could handle Kaden.

"And? What's your point? I've faced down killers before! This isn't exactly-"

"It's not the same thing, Kaden! They're _assassins!_ They won't hesitate to go in for the kill, trust me, I know what I'm talking about! I've trained with them!" Jason snapped back which silenced the teen in an instant. Kaden glared at his father and threw his arms up in defeat as he stormed out of the cave.

"Yeah, fine, whatever," Kaden shouted back. "This is bullshit," he muttered under his breath as he headed towards the stairs.

"Master Kaden! Language!" Alfred called after him. Jason growled and clawed at his hair; teenagers were such a pain in the ass! Would it kill that kid to just do as he was told, _just once_ without argument?!

"Yes," Bruce quipped. Jason turned on the spot and lifted an eyebrow at Bruce. Bruce chuckled in amusement at the look on Jason's face as he pushed himself up onto his feet.

"You're probably asking yourself if it'd kill him to obey you once in a while. Now you know what it was like to live with you," Bruce said smoothly, patting his shoulder comfortingly. Jason snorted, rolled his shoulders and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Please, I don't think I was-"

"Oh you most certainly were, Master Jason," Alfred cut in, gathering up the tray and the empty tea cups. He flashed a smirk at Jason and added "and Master Bruce is most certainly not one to talk. Have you any idea how much of a handful _he_ was?" Alfred glanced over at Bruce and lifted an eyebrow. "After raising five rambunctious rowdy teenagers," Alfred shot a glance over at Tim and Damian, both of whom raised their hands defensively, "I could write a book on the subject. I think I'll call it _Bats and Birds_."

The four of them watched as Alfred retreated up the stairs, then Jason and Damian busted into laughter and Tim just grinned and shook his head in amusement. Bruce returned to the computer as he chucked to himself.

"Well, he's not wrong," Bruce said, fingers began working gracefully over the keyboard of the computer. He glanced over his shoulder at Jason, Tim, and Damian and said, "Gear up you three. See what you can find out on the streets. I'm going to take Kaden up on his suggestion and contact Talia."

"If she _is_ involved, do you really think she's going to tell you anything?" Tim asked as an elegant eyebrow quirked. Bruce was silent for a moment as his fingers continued dancing over the keyboard.

"No, but it's still worth a try," he replied.

"More like a waste of time," Damian muttered to himself, gave a huff of annoyance and then padded to the lockers, Jason and Tim behind him. The three of them geared up for the mission ahead: Batman, Red Robin and the Arkham Knight, a strange team indeed.

"I'll take downtown, you two head uptown?" Tim called to Damian. Damian snorted, waving his hand dismissively.

"Sure. Try not to get stabbed by a junkie, Drake," Damian replied.

"Bite me."

As Damian and Tim made for the Batmobile, Jason tucked his helmet underneath his arm and approached Bruce, dragging a hand through his hair.

"Bruce, Dick needs to know what's going on. I don't want him walking back into Gotham unaware of the situation," Jason said evenly. While Dick was fully capable of taking care of himself, nobody knew why the League was here. Jason would never forgive himself if something happened to Dick because he didn't tell him what was happening.

"I know. I'll take care of it. Go," Bruce replied. Jason gave a curt nod, pulling on his helmet and jogged to the Batmobile. Bruce glanced over his shoulder as the engine roared to life. The car peeled out of the cave moments later. Bruce looked back up at the screen, eyes fixated on the frozen image of the League assassin; his eyes narrowed as he glared at the image, memories of his countless battles with the League and its original leader flitting through his mind. _Ra's Al Ghul..._


	3. The Shadows Have Eyes

**The Shadows Have Eyes**

The sky was dark with clouds as a light rain fell down upon the never-sleeping city of Gotham, the city lights illuminating its otherwise gloomy skyline. The Arkham Knight, Batman, and Red Robin had split up to cover more ground, with Oracle tapping into Gotham's surveillance alongside Bruce. After the initial sightings, the League seemed to have vanished into the shadows of the city; none of them - Batman, Red Robin, Oracle or Bruce or himself - were able to pick up a trace of the League.

"I thought I told you to stay at the Cave," Jason growled, eyes still fixed on the city below. He stood atop the Von Gruenwald Tower, arms crossed, as he turned to glare - as well as he could in a helmet - at his son, who was wearing the bright red and yellow of Robin. This kid was worse than he was at sixteen, he swore. How did he get passed Bruce's hawk-like senses, especially with a...wait, how he did he _get here_? Never mind. Kaden was in big trouble when they got home. After he talked with Dick and popped some aspirin. He could feel a migraine building behind his eyes.

"Robin. Go. To. The. Cave. NOW," Jason enunciated each word sharply so his son would know he was being dead serious. There would be major repercussions should he not listen.

"No. I want to be out here and learn why the League is here," Kaden replied stubbornly. Jason growled at the teen as he spun around to face the defiant youth. He jabbed the teen in the chest with his finger as he ground out, "That was _not_ a suggestion Kaden. Go. Now."

"If Mom is involved, I want to know, and I want to know why. Besides, three of you can't cover an entire city on your own. Not even with Oracle and Bruce's help," Kaden retorted, arms crossed, refusing to back down. Jason's anger rose to peak levels as his fists clenched at his sides. He took a breath, counted backwards from ten, pointed in the direction of the Clock Tower and then looked at Kaden.

"You want to help so bad? Go to the Clock Tower, _Ghost,_ " Jason gritted out. Kaden clenched his fists, dug his feet into the rooftop ready to argue his point when Oracle's voice broke the silence on the comm link and interrupted the impending argument.

"The GCPD is down at Gotham Docks investigating possible criminal activity."

Jason turned away from Kaden and in the direction of the docks and asked, "League of Assassins?"

"Hard to say," a pause, followed by the sound of clacking keys, "but it may lure a few assassins out of the shadows."

"We're on it," Jason answered. He turned to Kaden, growled low in his chest and pulled out his grappling hook. He walked into Kaden's space and said threateningly, "You will stay in my line of sight and glued to my side _at all times._ Do you understand me?" It was bad enough Kaden had disobeyed his orders; Jason wasn't going to see him killed too.

"Yeah, okay," Kaden replied, bored with the conversation already, grabbing his own grappling gun. Jason put a hand on the teen's chest and stopped him, locking eyes with him.

"I mean it, Kaden. You do _exactly_ as I say, _when_ I say it, or so help me-"

"Yeah, yeah, okay, o- _kay._ I got it," Kaden replied impatiently, hands raised in defeat, grappling gun in the right. Jason snorted lightly before diving off the edge of the tower, Kaden following his lead as the two of them vanished into the night.

The Arkham Knight and Robin perched silently on the top of an abandoned warehouse surveying the scene below them; well, as silently as Robin with a muscle spasms in the abductor magnus in his left leg could. Kaden grimaced for the third time and tried to shift his leg without disturbing the pebbles on the warehouse roof to find a more comfortable position. He nearly squealed from the pain. Training and gymnastics meant he was getting more muscle spasms and he pulled muscles; changing up his diet, getting more water and the extra stretching wasn't helping. He was going to have to ask his parents' to take him to their massage therapist.

Jason chanced a glance at him through his helmet, binoculars still to his face. "Sit down before you get us killed," he whispered. The police had left just moments earlier.

Kaden shot him a glare, "You try having a charley horse."

"Try having no cartilage in both knees and shoulders and lying in a vent for ten hours for thirty seconds of information."

Kaden shut his mouth and shook out his leg, muscle spasm finally eased, and raised the binoculars to his eyes. It looked like a bloodbath had unfolded down below on the docks. He counted at least three bodies. _At least._

Jason activated the infrared in his helmet, scanning the area around them carefully. The bodies were still warm, only recently dead. He did an additional scan of the docks, but couldn't pick up any other heat signatures. He switched to X-Ray, then night vision, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary aside from the three very dead bodies. Despite this, he decided to err on the side of caution; this was the League of Assassins. Just because it _seemed_ and _appeared_ that they weren't around, didn't mean they weren't. If a League Assassin didn't want to be seen, they wouldn't be seen; Jason had personal experience having trained with them for a few years.

Jason turned to Kaden and wordlessly gestured for him to follow. He crept silently toward the edge of the roof and dropped down, crouching as he landed to reduce the sound of his landing. Kaden followed the man's lead, but Jason caught him out of the air and carefully lowered him to the ground. Kaden shot him a glare, his face heating up in embarrassment, but Jason didn't need the teen accidentally pulling another muscle and making too much noise.

"Oracle, do you copy?" Jason whispered into the comm link as he cautiously approached the bodies with Kaden behind him and slightly to the right.

"I copy; what's up?" She asked. Jason crouched down beside one of the corpses and noted several stab wounds in one of them. The second was free of marks, but his neck was broken, and the third had a single stab wound through the chest.

"I'm at Gotham Docks and we've got three bodies here. I haven't seen any sign of the League, or anyone else for that matter, but-" Jason started to explain, but the sound of movement - metal clanking against concrete - put him on high alert. He shot a glance back at Kaden who'd already armed himself with an escrima stick and a brass knuckle, taken from his Poltergeist gear.

"I've alerted Batman and Red Robin. Be careful." Oracle didn't need an explanation; she'd been doing this long enough to know when trouble was brewing.

The two slowly followed the sound, walking in a crouch down the pier in front of them, and approached each warehouse warily. They stood back-to-back and checked corners one-at-a-time, Jason always at the front, a dual-action pistol in each hand. The warehouse furthest from them, near the ocean, yielded the answer to the clanking sound. A fourth body was torn up and hanging by chains gutted like a pig. Kaden was on his knees and losing his dinner in the ocean a minute later; Jason holding his dense hair back.

"Definitely _not_ ready for the League," Jason muttered under his breath, not that he could blame him. The League's brutal tactics could be hard to stomach, even for the most stalwart of men.

"Knight?" A worried voice echoed through the comm link. One he very much recognized.

"Nightwing? I thought you were-"

"Said I had a family emergency. Are you okay? Where's Robin? Big B said he isn't at the Manor."

"With me, unfortunately. Stubborn as his old man. He's also ralphing into the ocean," Jason sighed as he moved his feet slightly to relieve his aching muscles. He always hated squatting. He rubbed Kaden's scalp soothingly to try to help him. Throwing up sucked.

"He's what?! Why?! Is he okay?!" There's the motherhen Jason knew so well. Kaden took in a deep breath, stomach caving in, trying to regain his composure. He took a deep breath, fighting off another wave of nausea, but the image of that body flashed through his mind at that moment and he threw up again.

"League butchered a body. He's most definitely going home. He's a bit green," Kaden shot his dad a look-or tried to-but ended up puking again instead.

"Red Robin and Batman will be there in five; I'll be there in ten. I'll take him home."

The faint whistle of an arrow being loosed and whizzing through the air caught Jason's attention moments later; he knew that sound by heart from his multitude of team-ups with Roy. He didn't think, just reacted, jumping in front of Kaden on sheer parental instinct. Jason stumbled backward with a grunt as the arrow struck a solid plate of armor on his chest, glinting off harmlessly. He silently thanked whatever gods existed that he made the upgrade from Kevlar.

Jason looked up to the roof across the way and spotted a masked assassin wielding a bow. Second later, more started sprouting up like daisies. Jason growled to himself and looked back at Kaden who was only just getting back on his feet.

"Shit. Batman, Red, you better get your asses here fast," Jason growled over the comm link. He glanced back at Kaden nervously as the assassins approached. Between recently pulled muscles and puking his guts up, the teen wouldn't exactly be at the top of his game and he didn't know how long he could both hold the assassins off _and_ protect Kaden at that same time. _Fuck._

"Robin, now would be a good time to get a hold of yourself," Jason muttered to the teen. Kaden grimaced, wiped his mouth, grabbed his escrima stick in his right hand and the brass knuckle in his left, dug his feet into the cement of the docks, prepared for a fight.

"I'm cool. I got this," he replied and flipped the escrima stick in his hand a few times to show off.

"I hope so," Jason muttered to himself as eyes darted around to each of the approaching assassins. He and Kaden found themselves back-to-back again, surrounded by assassins on three sides and the ocean on the last side. The first one lunged at Jason, sword poised to strike above his head. Jason waited for the man to come to him and when he attempted to strike, he blocked the sword with one of his gauntlets, dug his heels in and delivered a powerful blow to his stomach which sent him toppling over backwards across the pier into the ocean. The other assassins soon joined the fray and father and son pushed off of each other to meet their attackers.

Jason ducked another sword attack, dodge rolled forward passed a flying sai. He quickly spun around, knelt down on one knee and loosed a volley of electric bullets. Two assassins were struck and electrocuted but were quickly replaced by two more.

Kaden blocked a sword strike with an escrima stick, then delivered a powerful uppercut to the man's jaw with his brass knuckle. He blocked a flurry of strikes by an assassin wielding daggers with his gauntlet; when the assassin charged forward on the final attack, Kaden flipped forward, jumped off of the back of his head, using him like a springboard, and landed on top of the assassin he'd just punched.

"League of Assassins? Really? More like the League of Losers; can't even handle a sixteen-year-old kid!" Kaden taunted with a laugh. Jason snorted, the taunts a reminder of his own time as Robin. Unfortunately, he had been just as overconfident as Kaden was.

"Don't get cocky, kid! You knocked a couple down, but there are still plenty to go around!" Jason called as he drop kicked a bow wielder. He vaulted off of the man's head, spun through the air like a corkscrew as he unleashed a storm of gunfire and took out three more assassins. He landed into a crouch, ejected the clips, loaded new ones in a smooth motion as he rose to his feet and backhanded a charging assassin with his gun.

Kaden knee kicked one to left and finished him off with a reverse roundhouse. He was swept off his feet the next second; he had left his back completely open and vulnerable. He was staring at the tip of a katana when a batarang flew out, sliced the assassin's left wrist and distracted him, giving Kaden the precious few seconds to roll away from the katana. He turned the electrical charge on his escrima stick on and aimed for the assassin's knees; just hitting one would slow him down. However, the assassin was too quick; he stepped over Kaden, pinned him down and drove a kris balisong into Kaden's right shoulder.

"GAAAAAAAAAH! AHHHHHH!" Kaden screamed.

Kaden's screaming got the attention of Batman, Red Robin and Jason. Jason was in the middle of fighting of five assassins and as much as he desperately wanted to get to his son, he was stuck in the middle of his own fight.

"Robin!" he shouted desperately, the distraction earning him a blow to the gut. Jason grunted, faltering backward for a second. As the assassin threw another punch, he blocked and retaliated with a headbutt. The assassin crumbled, knocked out cold, but more soon replaced him. Jason really wished he'd brought live ammo. Red Robin and Batman found themselves in similar situations, the both of them fighting off several assassins at once; Nightwing _really_ needed to get his ass here.

Dick was about to take the exit to the docks when he heard Kaden scream. He missed hitting the light pole by inches as Kaden's screaming shook him to the core. He pulled over to the shoulder, ripped his helmet off and took a few deep breaths to reorient himself and calm his shaking body. A few moments was all he took before he revved the bike and leaned forward, gunning it as fast as he swerved around cars, dodged other cyclists and cut across empty lots, his thoughts solely on Kaden. _Stay alive for one more minute, Kaden. Papa is going to be right there._

"C'mon, c'mon," he muttered to himself, the sound of Kaden's pained screams still echoing in his ears. The docks came into sight and he leaned forward just a bit more, tried to gain just a _little more_ speed. He switched to telescopic vision, zoomed in on the scene at the docks. His heart skipped a beat as he witnessed the assassin on top of Kaden, knife raised above his head and poised to strike. He revved the engine again and peeled around the corner, driving _right_ across the docks. He stood up onto the seat of the bike and dove into the air, whipping out a wingding and throwing it at the assassin.

The knife came down toward Kaden's chest, but the wingding found its mark, sending the knife hurtling out of the man's hand. The assassin cursed, clutching his hand, numb from the impact. He looked toward the source of the attack to see Nightwing drop out of the sky and followed up the attack by throwing an escrima stick, nailing the guy in the forehead. With a grunt, the man stumbled backwards, nearly falling off the dock and into the sea.

Dick was at Kaden's side an instant later and lifted the teen into his arms carefully. Kaden hissed in pain, hand clamped over the wound on his shoulder, pain lancing down his arm.

"Get him out of here now!" Jason yelled as he elbowed an assassin in the face. Jason didn't need to tell him twice. He briefly lamented the loss of his motorcycle which had careened into the ocean, but it was a small sacrifice to save Kaden's life. He turned and attempted to flee with Kaden, but several assassins cut off his path.

"Dammit," Nightwing cursed. He didn't have time for this! Kaden was losing blood! Fortunately, Red Robin and Batman had managed to break through their assassins and jumped to Dick's defense.

"Take the Batmobile! Go!" Batman ordered, elbowing one assassin and elbowed another.

"We've got you covered!" Red Robin shouted, bo staff spinning, and swept the feet out from underneath three assassins in one elegant move. Dick gave a nod and made a beeline for the car, carrying Kaden in his arms. He gingerly placed the boy into the backseat, jumped into the front and raced off for the Batcave.

"Retreat!" One of the assassins shouted as the Batmobile vanished into the distance. The assassins started throwing down smoke bombs. One-by-one, they disappeared, leaving their unconscious allies behind. Batman, Red Robin and the Arkham Knight convened in the middle of the docks after they looked around carefully for signs of the assassins. They all shared a glance when they saw they were safe, a silent agreement that the League's sudden retreat was definitely suspicious.

"Oracle, any sign of the assassins?" Tim asked.

"None."

"Then let's take care of these-" Damian gestured to the unconscious assassins "-and get back to the Batcave." He typed a command into his gauntlet and summoned the Batwing. The jet flew overhead minutes later, and Damian stared in the direction that the Batmobile had taken off in. The assassins left as soon as Dick escaped with Kaden... _Could it be_?

* * *

Ra's looked around his temporary new residence. It was absolutely _filthy,_ but it would do once it was cleaned. It was definitely down-sizing from Nanda Parbat, but, well, everything was small when you put it next to his home in the Hindu Kusch. He grimaced as foot falls from one of his assassins brought up small puffs of dust. A very _deep_ cleaning, this house required. Very deep.


	4. Bait

**Bait**

"OW!"

"Master Kaden, you shouldn't feel anything," Alfred chided softly as Bruce diligently stitched his muscles together.

"Yea, well, how about this? OW," he snarled. In all honesty, Kaden should have been anesthetized, but he was being stubborn and said he could handle it. The knife wasn't simple to pull out; it was cut in a way that made it go in easily while causing maximum damage to the muscles and blood vessels. Taking the knife out the same way it went in would cause more damage and would kill Kaden as every edge was shaped a little differently. It had taken two hours as Bruce and Alfred had to work in tandem to carefully wiggle the three inches embedded in Kaden's shoulder without causing permanent damage to it.

When Bruce could finally look at the weapon closer, the knife had a six-inch blade that retracted into the handle by snapping the handles apart and closing them around the blade. The weapon alone was a piece of art; the slim profile was perfect for an assassin.

"All right, Kaden, you're good as new," Bruce said as he applied the antibiotic and a bandage to his shoulder. "No gymnastics for a month at least while that heals."

"WHAT?! What do you mean no gymnastics?!" Kaden said in disbelief.

"Try picking up a pencil and writing."

Kaden grasped a pencil with his right hand and could feel the torn muscles in his shoulders whine in protest. Oh shit, oh shit. If it whined _now_ , he could only imagine the pain once the anesthetic wore off. He was ambidextrous, but he did prefer to write with his right hand; it was easier at school as most desks are oriented for right-handed people. Oh shit, this was going to be a bucket of fun.

He dropped the pencil in defeat and let his grandpa wrap his arm in a sling. Bruce hugged him gently. "How about you let your Uncle Tim help you change upstairs and we get some tea? I can hear your parents fighting in the locker room." Kaden nodded, too tired to argue.

"I'm going to kill him!" Jason shouted, storming into the locker room with Dick hot on his heels. The latter had changed back into civilian clothes, and Jason had just gotten back. He'd stayed out a bit longer to hunt for the assassins; someone had to pay for stabbing his kid. Unfortunately, he couldn't find a trace of them and came back to the Cave. _Angry_.

"Jaybird, calm down. Kaden's okay, there's no reason for you to be so upset," Dick replied, grabbing the man's arm. Jason snorted and shoved the man off of him, shooting him a glare.

"No reason to be upset?! How about he disobeyed me and nearly got himself fucking killed!"

"That's the point Jason! Your son is fucking injured and blowing your lid on him won't help!" Dick shouted back. Jason's jaw worked in frustration as his fists clenched and unclenched at his side. He poked Dick in the chest, shooting him another glare.

"Fine! I'll hug him first, and _then_ I'll kill him. How about that?" he snapped and marched to the medical bay. Dick growled in frustration, jogged to keep up and grabbed Jason by his arm.

"Let _me_ talk to him first.

"Dick-"

"Jason. Let me handle it _first._ You need time to calm down. Go," Dick ordered. Jason glared at the man, but it held no weight behind it. With a defeated sigh, Jason raked a hand through his hair and threw his arms up in defeat.

"Fine. Fine, you're right. But I'm still gonna rip him a new one," Jason warned. Dick chuckled in amusement and pressed a kiss to the man's jaw.

"Go on. Get changed, then come upstairs to get some tea, and calm down," Dick said smoothly. Jason gave a curt, angry nod and turned back towards the lockers, to change into civilian clothes. Dick sighed deeply and raked his hands through his hair. After more than sixteen years together, he could see through Jason; beneath his anger was fear and worry. He was angry at Kaden for disobeying him, but scared and worried because his boy nearly lost his life tonight. For Jason, it was just easier to be angry.

Dick spotted Kaden heading for the stairs, which was _not_ a good idea; he had received too many injuries to take the stairs by himself. He jogged up to the teen and stopped him, placing a hand on his good shoulder. Kaden glanced up at Dick and flashed a fake smile; he was in pain, that much was obvious. Dick was pretty good at reading people.

"Kaden, we have to talk," Dick said evenly, guiding the teen toward a workbench at the back of the Cave as he sat on a stool next to his son. Kaden heaved a sigh and toed at his boots.

"I already know what you're going to say. I should've listened to Dad, stayed in the Cave, and I screwed up," Kaden murmured in a disappointed tone, unable to look at his papa. Dick sighed and patted the teen's back gingerly.

"Well, I can't really disagree with any of that," Dick said evenly, gently grabbing the boy's jaw and coaxing him into looking at him. "You scared the _shit_ out of all of us tonight, Kaden, _especially_ your dad." Kaden sighed again and pushed away from the bench, pacing a little. Dick turned in the stool and just watched him.

"I just…everyone's always trying to protect me. I just want-"

"To prove yourself? To prove you can handle yourself?" Dick asked amused, because that's pretty much what Jason would've said. Kaden glanced over at the man and frowned. Dick chuckled in amusement, raising his hands defensively.

"Sorry. Go on," he said. Kaden smirked a little and gave a shrug.

"I just want him to be proud of me." That caught Dick's attention. He got to his feet and gently grabbed Kaden's arm, pulling him into a hug.

"Little Wing, whatever made you think he wasn't?" Dick asked. Kaden huffed and carefully pushed away from the man, signaling an end to the contact. Once again, Kaden found he couldn't look at Dick and he shrugged.

"Because he's always so…protective. So-"

"Hard on you?"

"Yeah."

"Baby Bird, it's because he loves you," Dick explained, gently wrapping an arm around his shoulders and leading him toward the stairs. "He's hard on you because he wants a better life for you than what he had."

"Yeah. I…I guess I never thought of that."

"Of course you haven't. I know that at your age, you think you know _everything,_ " Dick joked, earning a slight laugh from Kaden, "but you don't. Your dad might not say it, but he _is_ proud of you Kaden." Kaden glanced up at the man curiously and Dick gave a smirk.

"He is?"

"Oh yeah. Your dad never finished high school; here you are in your junior year, already applying to colleges. Trust me Kaden, he's proud of you.

Kaden leaned into his papa with a slight smile, partly to snuggle and partly to get some weight off the bruises, scrapes and other injuries that were mostly on his right side. Dick stopped at the bottom of the stairs, and without warning lifted Kaden into his arms.

"Heeeeeey, PAPA! I'm not five!" Kaden protested.

"Oh, I know, but you are injured head-to-toe. Now shut up and enjoy the ride," Dick chuckled. Kaden harrumphed but snuggled into Dick's arms nonetheless as the two made their way up the stairs to get some much needed tea.

Jason had been putting on his boots when Dick had been talking to his son. He hadn't heard much due to how far the lockers were from the stairs, but he had heard, "PAPA! I'm not five!" which prompted him to hop on one foot and peek around the corner from the lockers and at the stairs. He couldn't decide whether to laugh or coo (wait, the Arkham Knight DOES NOT coo) as he watched his husband lift his injured son like he still weighed nothing. Okay, maybe he wouldn't rip Kaden a new one. Maybe he'd just _lecture_ him.

In the den, everyone had made themselves comfortable. Kaden took the smaller couch to himself. He was in a pair of pajamas he kept at the Manor (Dick had insisted when he helped change Kaden into civilian clothes), had one ice pack on his right shoulder and another on his lower right leg which had gotten beat up in practice and in the field plus a hot water bottle on his left thigh which wouldn't stop spasming. He'd been given a muscle relaxant in the Cave, but Bruce and Alfred said it'd be twenty minutes before it'd start working and he'd probably get drowsy. Dammit, he hated feeling drowsy when he wanted to be awake. He was already feeling tired. _Tch, twenty minutes my ass._

Tim, Jason and Dick sat on the bigger couch across from the fireplace. Damian sat in the big green chair to the left of the fireplace that basically became his when he moved to the Manor all those years ago and Bruce sat in the chair to the right of the fireplace, next to Kaden. In the middle, a dark walnut coffee table boasted a fine china set and a few family photo albums. They were on their first cup of tea and no one said anything until Bruce poured his second cup of tea.

Bruce sipped his tea and considered how to begin carefully. After another silent moment, he looked around the room with a serious look on his face.

"I couldn't contact Talia," he said evenly. Everyone perked up at the news, especially Kaden.

"She didn't answer?" Kaden asked. Bruce shook his head. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Not just that. Every conceivable method I know of to contact her has either failed or been ignored," Bruce answered. A grim silence fell over the room; nobody was sure what to make of the news. But if Talia was out of contact, and the League was here in the city-

"I think Kaden was the League's target," Damian chimed in suddenly. That drew everyone's attention, especially Jason who was literally at the edge of his seat. When no one else spoke, Damian continued. "The League's sudden retreat was right after Dick escaped with Kaden. That plus the fact that he was the only one they injured, the fact that the assassins kept blocking us from getting to him, and now this? I don't think Mother is in charge, so that just leaves-"

"Ra's Al Ghul," Bruce finished.

"But why? Why would Ra's want to kill my son?" Jason asked, both angry and confused. Kaden looked back and forth between them, at a loss, especially because his mind was starting to feel fuzzy. Who was Ra's Al Ghul? He couldn't remember ever having heard that name before, and more importantly, why would he want to kill him?! He involuntarily yawned, tried to shake off how tired he was. _Stay awake, Todd-Grayson, you want to know who this Ra's Al Ghul is. Stay awake..._

"If you recall how much I used to… _dislike…_ Kaden years ago, well just imagine grandfather. It's likely he believes Kaden's existence is an affront to his legacy."

All of them looked silently towards Kaden, who was struggling to stay awake, concern written on their faces, especially his parents. Jason walked over to Kaden, sat on the edge of the couch and pushed his son's hair behind his ears, lulling him to sleep. He preferred his son to be asleep so he could recover and not hear this conversation. Kaden struggled against the medication, the day's events and Jason's warm soothing touch; he wanted to know what was going on but Jason knew him too well. A few more soothing strokes and his son was asleep. He continued to stroke his son's hair for a few more minutes before he took off the ice packs and the hot water bottle, then picked him up and mouthed, "One minute," and brought Kaden up to bed.

Dick smiled as he watched Kaden be carried out of the room, "If only it were that easy to fall asleep. Too many aches these days.

"Tt, you mean hip replacements, Grayson," Damian scoffed. Dick lifted an eyebrow like Damian had no idea what he was talking about. His hip replacements made life easier and less painful. He had to take a year off crime fighting when Kaden was fourteen for both surgeries, but damn were those hip replacements worth it. Now, back replacements...he could use one of _those_. His back hated him in the mornings.

"I have just one question," Jason said seriously as he walked back into the den and sitting next to Dick on the end of the couch, "How did Kaden get out of the Manor wearing his Robin uniform with _the Batcycle_?" He looked pointedly at Bruce, who had been in the Cave the entire night and would have heard both Kaden suiting up and, for all intents and purposes, _stealing_ the Batcycle.

Bruce glanced over at Jason, knowing that this particular question was coming. He glanced over at Alfred who'd just entered the room with an elegant brow arched as their eyes met briefly, before Bruce turned his attention back on Jason. Jason wasn't going to like his answer. Not one bit. He let loose an exasperated sigh, scrubbing his face with his hands.

"I allowed him to leave," Bruce said. Jason felt his jaw tighten slightly, his brow furrow as he looked at the man who just said he _allowed_ Kaden to put himself in harm's way.

"And _why_ did you do that?" he gritted out. Dick looked back and forth between Jason and Bruce. Damian sat in his chair passively, waiting to hear the explanation; Tim, wide-eyed, got up to leave.

"Okay, I'm gonna take that as my cue to go. Good night," Tim said calmly. Shit was about to hit the fan and he didn't want to be involved in any part of it. Bruce listened for the front door to close firmly before turning his attention back to Jason.

"Like Damian, when I couldn't contact Talia, I suspected it had something to do with Kaden. So I allowed him to leave to test my theory," Bruce admitted. Dick stared at him wide-eyed and slack-jawed before he quickly turned his gaze on Jason, who looked completely calm. _Uh-oh._ _Not good_. Jason's jaw worked a bit as he pushed himself up onto his feet, pacing back and forth a little. Dick could see him trying to count backwards but it definitely wasn't working. Then he stopped and stared at Bruce.

"Testing a theory?" he echoed. Bruce didn't answer but locked eyes with his son. Jason continued staring. His hands tightened into fists then as he repeated, "Testing a theory?"

"Jaybird-" Dick said softly, but Jason held up a hand and silenced him.

"You were testing a fucking theory?" Jason said, his voice slowly rising as his anger built. Bruce gave a curt nod and folded his hands in front of his face.

"I had to be sure. I had to know if he was the League's target so we could prepare and better protect him," Bruce answered.

"You used my son as bait, you bastard!" Jason shouted, throwing a right hook punch at Bruce and nailing him in the face. The entire chair tilted to the left, nearly spilling Bruce in front of the fireplace, and Jason stormed out of the room. Bruce groaned, rubbing his jaw as he looked around the room. Dick glared at him before he followed after Jason. Damian snorted and shook his head as he carefully examined the knife Bruce had pulled out of Kaden. Bruce glanced up at Alfred who gave him an uninterested look.

"I'd say you had that coming, Master Bruce."


	5. Embrace The Suck

**Embrace the Suck**

Late the next morning, everyone - aside from Kaden who was sleeping soundly upstairs - gathered in the Cave around a large illuminated table - which illuminated maps of Gotham, Bludhaven and the world - to talk about what to do next. Dick had called into work citing a family emergency and Jason had called Kaden's school saying he wouldn't be in for the next week due to illness. Tim called into Wayne Enterprises also citing a family crisis and had brought Kon with him as he could cover large swaths of land easily. Kon had brought his brother, Clark, to aide him. Bruce had not been happy to see both Kryptonians in his Cave. He was rather protective of his cave and didn't like sharing its location with other Leaguers.

"What are you doing in _my_ Cave, Clark?" Bruce asked, growling low in chest, giving his best glare at Clark.

"I'm here to help with finding Ra's and Talia, Bruce. Relax," Clark replied.

"But. You're. In. My. Cave."

"Master Bruce, you are over sixty years old. Are you not too old to be acting so childish?" Alfred chided as he strode into the room with a trolley of tea and tea cakes. Damian snickered behind him; he had no problem sharing the Cave with the Kryptonians.

"How do we plan on doing this?" Jason interrupted as he moved to sit on the edge of the Batcomputer. Tim, Damian and Bruce had been up since the wee hours debating and planning how to track Ra's Al Ghul and find Talia.

"Tim and Jason, you will split up and search Gotham," Bruce said, hands gripping the edge of the table. Bruce looked at Jason, "Do you think Lian and Roy will join in? And could get in contact with some of the old contacts you had as the Red Hood?"

Jason raised as thick eyebrow, "Lian and Roy are no problem, but you want me, _the Arkham Knight_ , to convince people who knew _the Red Hood_ the two entities are one and the same without killing or live ammo?" He started chuckling, "You are out of your fucking mind."

" _Language_ ," Alfred chided firmly, squinting his eyes and staring right at Jason. Jason let out all of the air in his lungs, cowed by a ninety-one-year-old butler. Dammit.

"Dick, I'm suiting up to help you in Bludhaven. Oracle will also be working on both cities. See if you can get Wally involved to help cover more ground." Dick groaned slightly at the idea of Bruce doing patrol with him. He much preferred if it was just Wally; at least he and Wally had the same sense of humor. Bruce took things way too seriously; plus, he was a little old for patrol. How was he going to keep up?!

"Connor, Clark, you are going to Nanda Parbat, Ra's Al Ghul's main base. Be careful, the base is heavily fortified and there may be Kryptonite." Connor groaned. How he hated Kryptonite.

"What about me Father?" Damian asked curiously. Bruce looked at him and smiled wryly.

"You, Damian, you are going to stay here at the Manor and protect Kaden."

"I'm going to do _what?_ " Damian asked in disbelief.

"I'll not say it again. You are perfect for the job. You know how League assassins move, what they are capable of _and_ you can hold your own against a group of them." Damian ground his teeth together, not at all happy. He was Batman, not a glorified babysitter.

With the assignments handed out, the family moved their separate ways. Tim figured he might as well go home and clean his apartment since he had the day off. Kon and Clark both flew off to work and Damian and Bruce went upstairs for a proper breakfast. Dick and Jason made their way to one of Bruce's cars so they could grab some things from their apartment.

When the couple arrived at their apartment, Dick and Jason packed bags for themselves and Kaden plus packed all of Star's essentials and Jason clipped her leash onto her collar. Star immediately tried to yank Jason's arm out of its socket because she hadn't been out all night and was also excited for wherever they were going. He hissed - he really had to consider shoulder replacements if his arms were going to yanked like this - and jogged down the stairs, allowed Star to relieve herself, then packed her up.

The minute they arrived at the manor and unclipped Star, she sniffed the air trying to find a familiar smell. Suddenly, she stopped, dropped her nose to the floor and began to track some unknown smell familiar only to her. She followed it up the stairs, through a few hallways and stopped at a big door. Her tail was swishing to and fro, paws bouncing up and down, and she was panting excitedly. Who was behind the door? Using her black muzzle as a battering ram to open the big door, she continued sniffing out the smell. She put her big chestnut paws on the bed finally and took a few deep sniffs. Satisfied, she took them off, took a few steps back and vaulted onto the bed, front paws squarely landing on bruised legs.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! WHAT THE HELL?!" Kaden yelled as he was jolted out of his deep slumber. When his eyes set onto a pair of brown puppy eyes with her face tilted in that way only dogs could make adorable, his face crinkled up in anger for ten seconds, then he sighed. He could never stay angry at his puppy.

"All right, come on up. Make yourself at home," he said resignedly. Star crawled up and spread herself out along his right side, causing him to groan and he looked at her. "Go ahead, Fuzzball. Find all of my injuries." Star looked up at him with her big brown eyes, her tail wagging, then leaned up and licked his face. Kaden laughed and hugged her, scratching her ears affectionately. He groaned in pain as his shoulder flared up for a moment. He was still in pain, but it was better than last night. Star whimpered a little and licked his hand as he clenched his fist a bit.

"I'm okay girl," he replied with a weak smile, patting her head. A knock came at his door a few moments later, followed by a familiar voice.

"Master Kaden? Are you alright?" Alfred asked peeking his head into the room. Kaden huffed as he pulled himself out of bed, still garbed in his black pajama pants and top. He yawned, stretching his good arm a bit as he shuffled across the room, barefoot. Star was behind him in an instant, tail wagging and the jingling of her collar soothing him.

"Morning Alfie. I'm okay. Star jumped on my legs is all. It fu-" Kaden began to explain, stopping himself before he swore, noting the raised eyebrow "-uh, freaking hurt." Alfred flashed an approving smile, placing a careful hand on the boy's back, gesturing down the hallway.

"I figured you might have a late morning. I prepared you a late breakfast, Master Kaden. Come on, chop chop!" Alfred said with a clap. Kaden chuckled in amusement as he made his way down the hall with Star followed behind him.

Kaden shuffled into the kitchen minutes later with a yawn, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His parents were in the kitchen. Dick was sipping a cup of coffee leaning against the counter beside Jason, who was sitting on the counter chewing on an apple. Dick smiled when the teen entered the room, placed his cup down and dragged the teen into a light hug, being careful about his bad arm.

"Morning Baby Bird! Sleep well?" he asked. Kaden yawned again and gave a nod as Alfred came in behind him, gently guiding him toward the table. He sat down and glanced up at his dad who flashed him a neutral look. He was in trouble and he knew it.

"How's the shoulder, champ?" he asked. Kaden glanced down at his shoulder and moved it a bit; even slight movements were painful, but it was already feeling a bit better.

"Still hurts," Kaden admitted. He chanced a glance at his father and immediately felt the sting. Jason took another bite of his apple and just gave Kaden 'the look;' that look which somehow conveyed disappointment, 'I told you so', and 'we need to talk' all at once.

"Here you are Master Kaden. I expect you to eat every bite," Alfred said, matter of factly as he placed a plate down in front of Kaden. The plate was loaded: two pancakes with syrup, strawberries and blueberries on them. Kaden grinned widely and took a bite of the pancakes, making an 'mmm' sound.

"Wow, these are amazing Alfred! Thanks," Kaden said cheerily, taking another bite. Alfred chuckled in amusement and patted the teen's back before moving over to the sink to clean up. Dick chugged the rest of his coffee and joined the old butler.

"Here, let me help," he said gently. Jason tossed the apple core into the trash then patted Kaden's good shoulder.

"We have to talk, Kaden after you're done eating, okay?" Kaden looked up at his father noting the disappointed look on his face; he swore he learned that from Alfred because only Alfred could make you feel like crap with just a look! Jason retreated into the den and Kaden watched him go nervously. When he looked back at the table, Dick was beside him patting his back.

"He insisted on talking to you before we go out in search of answers," Dick said smoothly, looking in the direction of the den. He glanced down at Kaden and flashed a smile, brushing a lock of hair out of his son's eyes. "But don't worry, I convinced him not to be too hard on you." Kaden turned back to his breakfast, toying with a strawberry for a moment before tossing it into his mouth.

The teen finished his breakfast and headed into the den where his dad was waiting, reading a book. He sat down beside the man and leaned forward to see what it was: _Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox._ Jason shut his book and shifted on the couch, glancing over at Kaden.

"Look, Kaden-"

"I know. Papa told me last night," Kaden said smoothly, rubbing the back of his neck. "That you're just trying to keep me safe, and make sure I have a better life, and all that other mushy stuff." Jason snorted, followed by a chuckle of amusement.

"Well, to put it bluntly, yeah, pretty much. Look, I could ground you for a month-" Jason answered, to which Kaden groaned, scrubbing his face with his good hand "-but I won't. I'd say the shoulder is punishment enough." Kaden sighed in relief and gestured to his bad arm.

"Thanks. This shit is already driving me insane."

"Language," Alfred called from the main hall. The two of them glanced in his direction as he rounded the corner. The old man sighed and said, "Like father like son, I suppose." Jason and Kaden exchanged a glance before snickering in amusement. Jason ruffled the teen's hair then headed out of the room, stopping in the doorway. He glanced back at Kaden and pointed at the teen, giving him a firm glare.

"Kaden, you need to stay put. For once, listen-"

"Don't worry," Kaden answered, raising his bad arm as much as he could, "not going anywhere with this."

* * *

Zachary drove the long driveway to the double doors of Wayne Manor. He put the car in park, and stared at the double doors, sighing. He hadn't seen Kaden in some time, but the teachers at Gotham Academy were seemingly clueless to the change in their relationship status and had asked if he would take Kaden's homework for the next week to Wayne Manor. He rubbed his face, sighed and unbuckled his seat belt. _Better get it over with now than look like a loser lurking in the driveway,_ he thought.

He reached into the back, grabbed his backpack, unzipped it, took out the large stack of papers labeled "Kaden Todd-Grayson" and tossed his backpack into the back carelessly. He sighed again, opened the car door and closed it after he stepped out. He slowly walked to the double doors and was surprised when an old, old, _old_ man ( _how was he even walking?_ he thought) opened before he reached the third step.

"Good afternoon, Mister Zachary. We've been expecting you," the ancient man said in a British accent.

"Uh," Zachary replied, dumbfounded as he entered the huge house. How did this old creep know that he had arrived? Did he have some sort of old man magic? Wait...how did this old bat _know_ his name?

"Hey, wait a minute, how do you fucking know _my_ name? Who the hell are _you_? And _where_ the hell is Kaden?!" he asked combatively. The ancient, wrinkled man turned around and stared at Zachary and lifted a very thin, white brow.

"My, my, what an expansive vocabulary you have. You must make your parents very proud." Zachary gritted his teeth. "I'm Alfred, the butler. Master Kaden speaks of you fondly; he is in the den, resting."

Zachary nodded and looked around, suddenly confused. This place was much too large to go off on his own. Alfred lifted his brow again and nodded his head to tell him to follow him. He followed Alfred across the hall, up a small set of stairs and through a door and saw Kaden lounging on a big couch in front of the fireplace, petting Star with his left arm. His right was in a sling; well, he certainly didn't look ill aside from the arm in a sling and black eye. He shuffled his feet, suddenly nervous but also curious, and gripped the stack of papers a little harder.

"Master Kaden," Kaden's head shifted from looking at Star up to Alfred...and Zachary. His jade eyes went wide upon seeing him. "A Mister Zachary is here to see you."

Kaden nodded and waved Zachary into the den, careful not to move too much. Alfred - and his parents - had insisted he take a Vicodin after lunch as his face had fixed itself into a permanent scowl from the pain. His papa joked it would stay that way. After a two hour nap, he was feeling better but he still felt like the Batmobile ran over him a few times.

He watched as Zachary shuffled in, jumped a little as Alfred closed the door, and continued to shuffle over to the loveseat to the right of Kaden. He smirked a little and shook his head as Zachary perched at the very edge of the seat. Clearly he wasn't the only one nervous.

"You know, you can sit all the way back on the seat. It isn't going to kill you, Zach," Kaden giggled. Kaden mentally smacked himself; only girls _giggled_. The Vicodin must be affecting him still.

"Yea, well, never really been in a house with furniture this expensive," Zachary bit back and then sighed, "Sorry. It's been a while."

"Yep, that it has," Kaden responded and pet Star's chestnut ears.

"Um, I brought your homework. They said you were sick, so, uh, yea." Kaden nodded as Zachary put the heaping stack of papers on the coffee table.

"Thanks. Soooo, how are you?" Star turned her head, stood up and trotted off. She went over to the toy box Bruce had set up in the corner which had all of her toys in it, sniffed around, gleefully took out a partially eaten rawhide, flopped on the floor by the fireplace and began gnawing on the partially eaten - but well loved - rawhide. Kaden groaned internally at the loss of the distraction.

"Um, okay. You?"

Kaden lifted an eyebrow, "Do I need to answer that question?" as he used the good hand to gesture from his head down.

"Not really. How did that happen, anyway?"

"A thug jumped me and I fought back. I'm fine," he responded. His parent had sat down with him last night before bed and developed a cover story for his injuries. It sucked that he had to lie, but he couldn't tell the truth and expose his family's second occupation.

Zachary nodded slowly, not quite believing him. He knew Kaden was hiding something, but he wasn't sure what. He rubbed his jeans a few times, stood up and turned to leave.

"Anyway, I just came here to drop these off. I need to get going," he smiled at Kaden one last time and exited. Kaden sighed; that could have gone better.

* * *

That night, everyone who had been there earlier plus Roy, Lian, and Wally assembled in the Batcave. Wally, in all of his years knowing Dick, had never been to the Batcave was taking an accelerated tour of the Batcave. Jason and Dick were catching up with Roy while Kaden caught up with Lian. Clark was silently checking the Cave out with his various powers while talking to Kon.

In the changing rooms, Bruce looked at his old Batman suit. It had eight years since he retired his position as Batman and given the mantle over to Damian, but he donned the old costume on last year...barely. What no one tells you about aging is that no matter how much you train, you will start to get thicker somewhere. If you don't get thicker, you get mushy. The Batsuit meant to fit him at his prime. The Bat had gotten thicker around the waistline as he wasn't burning as much energy these days. Not much, but it was enough.

He sighed, "Let's get it over with." He started with the Kevlar twill weave bodysuit, which had the most stretch. It wasn't a lot of stretch, but it was often enough. He sighed as he got to his waist and it _would not_ budge. Damn that scotch every night. Damn Alfred's cookies. _Language_ , he reminded himself. He sucked in a breath and bounced up and down and shoved it up. _YOU. WILL. FIT!_ He breathed heavily and smiled in triumph as the suit made it passed his waist and he was able to shove his arms in. _Okay, Bruce,_ he thought, _after this, order a new suit in case you need to use it again._

With the help of Alfred, who had come into the locker room just as Bruce shoved his arms in, Bruce managed to suit himself up. Alfred shook his head the entire time and tut-tutted. Dick had complained loudly earlier in the day that Bruce was going to slow him down and, frankly, Alfred agreed.

Bruce stalked into the main area of the Cave and glanced around. One thing that never changed was that Bruce's steps could stop lightning. Wally had finished his tour and was catching up with Dick while refueling when Bruce stalked in. He stopped talking mid-sentence, mouth open and looked at Bruce.

"Everyone knows their positions?" Bruce asked. Everyone nodded; Damian nodded, slightly defeated, holding his katana in his right hand. He normally subscribed to the family motto of no killing, but the League did not. If he needed to, he would kill to keep Kaden safe.

"Let me help," Kaden chimed in from the back with Star behind him, tail wagging happily, completely unaware of the seriousness in the Cave. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a black hoodie, with Alfred's help. The hoodie was the hardest part; moving that arm too much hurt like a bitch.

"No Kaden, you need-" Jason began, using his dad tone. Kaden shook his head.

"No, not as Robin. As Ghost _._ I can help from here, in the Cave," Kaden answered, moving toward the computer. Bruce, Dick and Jason all exchanged looks, then Bruce turned to Kaden and gave a nod.

"Fine, but _do not_ leave this cave," Bruce said sternly. Kaden gave a nod and sat in the chair, spinning a little as he got to work; with only one hand, it'd be a bit more difficult, but he enjoyed a challenge.


	6. Check Your Six

**Check Your Six**

Wally sped through Blüdhaven, quick scanning the city for unusual crime, while Dick and Bruce investigated the seedier parts of the city (as if there were a part of the city that wasn't seedy.) The League preferred to operate from the shadows; if they _were_ here, there were plenty of places to hide in a place like Blüdhaven. Blüdhaven made sense in a way; far enough from Gotham to stay hidden, but close enough to carry out whatever tasks they received from Ra's. To be honest, Dick wished that they _weren't_ here at all. Blüdhaven had enough crime without the League of Assassins adding to it.

"Three robberies, a purse snatching and a shooting, but no sign of the League," Wally called over the comm link. Dick and Wally worked well together, having been friends since they were kids, so he was glad to have Wally here. Bruce had been silent almost the whole time they'd been here in the city, save for an occasional update. Kaden's life was on the line, but Bruce was being way too serious. Dick sometimes joked that the only reason he and Wally were still sane was because they were able to laugh and joke about _everything_.

"So, Blüdhaven as usual then?" Dick replied with a chuckle. He could hear Wally snickering on the other end, and he could swear he heard Bruce cringing.

"No sign of the League," Bruce reported. Dick rolled his eyes at the lackluster report and could likewise hear Wally's own eye roll.

"I'm monitoring BPD reports; so far, I've seen nothing that even hints at a League presence-" Oracle said smoothly. Dick perked up at the sudden pause. Did she find something?

"Hold on. Three drug dealers and a police officer were killed down on Stark Avenue. The BPD is responding, but they're not there yet. If you-"

"On it!" Wally called.

"Flash, be careful! If it's the League, it could be a trap," Dick said urgently, typing in a few commands on his gauntlet. "I'm calling for the Wing Glider. I'll meet you there shortly."

Naturally, Wally sped ahead without listening, impatient as ever. He raced to the scene of the crime, there in a matter of seconds. He knelt down beside each body in turn, examining each carefully for clues. All died from stab wounds, likely from a short range weapon like a dagger or knife. He chanced a look down the alley closest to the scene and spotted a bloody dagger. This had to be a trap; the League was not _this_ sloppy.

Wally looked up the side of one of the buildings, raced up the side and barely avoided an arrow. He ducked out of the way at the last second and when he looked back, the assassin who shot him was making an escape.

"Really? Running from the fastest man alive?" Wally taunted with a grin. As he was about to make chase, the arrow which was embedded into the concrete of the roof, exploded and trapped him in polyurethane foam. He groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Dammit! I knew it was a trap," he muttered to himself. Two more assassins dove out of the sky behind him, balisongs drawn, creeping towards him.

"Aw crap," he muttered to himself as he began to vibrate his molecules attempting to escape to no avail. Wally gave a tiny whimper; he really did not want to die in _foam_ , especially foam he couldn't eat.

Nightwing dropped out of the sky - Wing Glider propelling forward in the sky from Nightwing's momentum - throwing one of the assassins off of his feet, flipping gracefully and tackling the other one to the ground and began throwing a series of punches. Batman tackled the other other one, dropping down from a building above. The two Bats had taken the assassins by surprise; it took but a few select kicks and punches to subdue them.

"I _told_ you it was a trap, _Flash_ ," Dick scolded.

Wally slumped his shoulders in defeat, then gave Dick the most pitiful puppy eyes, "I know; I'm sorry, dude. Can you get me out now? I promise I won't go speeding off in a flash without listening." Dick groaned; Wally had picked up using "in a flash" whenever he could from his uncle and it could get very irritating. Wally snickered in amusement as Dick helped to break him free from the foam, and then he turned to help Bruce tie up the assassins as Wally got the rest of the foam off.

"Go with the Flash. Do a more thorough patrol of this area; there may be more assassins. I'll stay here and make these one talk," Bruce said lowly so only Dick could hear.

"You _think_ you can make them talk? Big B, they're League Assassins; they're trained to be near unbreakable," Dick asked. Bruce looked up at him, eyes narrowing underneath the cowl.

"Near unbreakable doesn't mean unbreakable. I can get them to talk," Bruce said lowly. Dick shivered a little at the ominous comment. He feared to think of what Bruce had in mind.

Bruce glared at the two assassins, snarled, and took a fistful of the material the assassin's wore and dragged the two assassins to a nearby abandoned building project. He threw them into the building, and tied each one to a separate steel beam. He slapped both of them awake, waiting for each to come to.

"Now, you're going to tell me _everything_ I want to know," Bruce said darkly, glaring at the two of them underneath his cowl. One of the assassins spit on the floor and glared back at him.

"We will tell you nothing, Batman! We are League Assassins; we do not break," the man said defiantly. Bruce's scowl deepened, glare darkening as he cracked his knuckles as he approached the man, boots echoing.

"We will see about that."

With Oracle's help, Dick and Wally continued their patrol of Blüdhaven. Aside form the two assassins currently with Bruce and the one that had tricked Wally, there were no other reports of League activity. Dick admitted he was a little unsettled; hours on patrol and they hadn't found a thing. Then Wally stumbles across a dagger while investigating a crime scene, leading to a confrontation with an assassin, then an ambush and, once again, silence. It didn't sit right with him; it screamed 'set up.' He couldn't help but think that Blüdhaven was little more than a rouse.

Ra's knew them almost as well as they all knew each other. It seemed likely that he would foresee they'd suspect his assassins to be operating out of Blüdhaven. What if they were playing right into his hands? What if Ra's _wanted_ them in Blüdhaven, distracted, away from Gotham...away from Kaden?

"Wally-"

"I know. I'm thinking the same thing," Wally interrupted. It was hardly surprising; best friends since they were kids and years of working together, they often found themselves on the same wavelength. At the moment, all they could do was wait and see if Bruce had gotten anything out of their captives. Bruce had a way of cracking even the toughest nut. If he wanted information, he'd get it. It wasn't a matter of _if_ , it was a matter of _when._

"Batman. Do you copy?" came Batman's voice over the comm link after what felt like hours.

"Yeah, I copy," Dick answered. There was a pause from Bruce's end, the sound of movement, followed by silence.

"Blüdhaven is a waste of time. The League isn't here. They were never here. The three assassins we found here-"

"Were just meant to keep us busy," Dick finished. He figured that was the case. Now that that was solved, they could go back to Gotham, but something else first. "Did you get a location out of them? Where the League is operating out of?"

"No, only that they're based in Gotham." Dick sighed, somewhat disappointed by the lack of information. It was better than nothing; they knew more now than they did before.

"So, back to Gotham then?" Dick asked.

"Back to Gotham. We're done here," Bruce answered.

As they were heading home, there was a crackle over the comm.

"AAAH! SHIT! They're fucking everywhere!" Lian screamed over the comm. The three skidded to a complete stop on the roof of one of Blüdhaven's many low-income residential buildings – stunned into silence - Wally leaving skid marks and a trail of smoke a few buildings ahead of them. Oh shit. _Oh shit._

Dick did the mental calculations. They were a half hour away by motorcycle. Wally needed refueling so it'd take him probably at least a minute or two to get to Gotham. Wally was a wild card though; he didn't always look as he leaped which sometimes caused him to get into polyurethane foam.

Nightwing took a breath and said "Flash, go to Gotham. We'll catch up with you."

"Right. See you in a flash!" Wally replied. Nightwing groaned again; really, he had to think of a different phrase to use. That was growing old.

Bruce looked at Dick, rubbed his neck and grimaced. "Wing, I think I'll let you handle the assassins. I think I'm a little too old for this."

"No, you don't say? I swear I said something like that earlier today," Dick said, grinning and shaking his head.

 _"Bruce, no offense, but you're old! You're 61! Your prime was twenty years ago!" Dick argued. It was more than just the worry of Bruce slowing him down; it was worrying about Bruce getting himself killed. The man had mostly kept in shape, but old age had a way of slowing you down. Dick felt as good as ever, but even he knew he wasn't quite as fast or as agile as he used to be._

"Watch it." Nightwing snickered in reply, gave a friendly wave and took off in the direction of where they had hidden the motorcycles. Bruce sighed and sat down for a few minutes to recuperate before he too readied his grapple and took off.

* * *

The sound of pained screams echoed through the warehouse as the Arkham Knight brought a crowbar down on the thug's leg. His mission was a simple one - convince his old contacts he and the Red Hood were the same person and re-establish his old information network. Actually, it was just to get underworld information, but Jason had the thought that he could re-establish an information network to better assist in their vigilante work: no drugs, gang wars, or criminal politics involved this time.

"I _am_ the Red Hood mother fucker! Have another goddamn reminder!" Jason roared, bringing the crowbar down across his other knee. The man shrieked in pain and clutched his wounded knee.

"Okay, okay! I believe you! No more! Make it stop!" he cried out. Jason snorted, tossed the crowbar aside and hauled the man up to his feet by the collar of his shirt.

"Good. Now that we have that established, tell your boss, Black Jack, that the Red Hood is back and he needs information. Go, before I _actually_ break your fucking knee caps," he hissed. The man whimpered but hobbled away quickly. Jason sighed, pulled off his helmet and raked a hand through his hair.

"Damn, that's pretty brutal Jaybird," came Roy's voice from behind him. The auburn haired archer dropped down from the rafters and landed beside his old friend, grin plastered across his face as he patted his shoulder.

"Pft, shit. This is nothing compared to the old days," Jason replied evenly. Roy chuckled in amusement, giving a shrug of his shoulders.

"True enough. No duffel bag full of severed heads this time," Roy joked, earning a glare from Jason.

"So where's Lian?" Jason asked. Roy sighed and raked his fingers through his hair.

"Oh, she's off on her own. Y'know how it is, teenagers. Plus, she's just like her mother. Completely independent. It's hard to keep tabs on that girl, I swear," Roy said with a slight laugh, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against some crates behind him. Jason groaned and scrubbed his face with a hand.

"Tell me about it. Kaden is so much like me, I don't know whether to be proud, or fuckin' scared." The two friends spent the next dozen or so minutes talking about inconsequential things; kids, relationships, how best to piss off other mutual friends. Jason was starting to lose his patience and began to wonder if he should have just shot the guy, but he had off killing. Then again, he _never_ said anything about maiming, or seriously injuring. As if on cue, the sound of cars pulling up could be heard outside.

"Game time," Jason said smoothly, putting his helmet back on and shooing Roy away. His trusted friend grappled up into the rafters and crouched there, keeping an eye from above in case things got ugly.

Black Jack, in his usual dark blue suit, strolled into the warehouse with several armed bodyguards behind him.

"So rumor has it, the Red Hood is back in business. And I hear you-"

"You heard wrong. He's not in business, but he needs information," Jason interrupted, placing a hand on one of the hand guns at his hip. The crime lord eyed it carefully before turning his attention back on the man himself.

"Yeah? You're the _Red Hood?_ Prove it," Black Jack said evenly. He glanced back at one of his men and nodded toward The Arkham Knight. The man stepped forward and pulled out an assault rifle. Jason drew a hand gun and shot him in his knee before he could even aim the gun. The man shrieked in pain as he crumpled to the ground, clutching his wounded knee.

"Try that again, and you'll eat the next fucking round, asshole," Jason growled lowly. Black Jack shot the armor clad vigilante a glare, but that was most definitely the Red Hood's M.O.

"So, you're the real deal then. What do you want?" Black Jack asked calmly. Jason grinned, impressed with crime lord's ability to remain cool in tense situations. He hadn't changed a bit.

"I want information. I'm not playing crime lord anymore. Those days are over," Jason said, waving his hand dismissively, "but intel directly from the criminal underworld is invaluable. I want it. Spread the word; the Red Hood is back and you all work for me again. When I call, you answer."

Black Jack was silent for a moment, a critical eye on the Arkham Knight. He exchanged glances with his men, then turned back to the vigilante.

"What's in it for us?" he asked. Jason wanted to shoot him; the last thing he wanted was to get dragged back into underworld politics. Unfortunately, Black Jack was his most loyal lieutenant back during his Red Hood days; thus, this was his best chance at reclaiming his once extensive information network. His network was second only to Penguin's, who had informants on both sides of the law. Well, maybe not anymore as Dick was police officer now. He may have an edge now.

"Look, I don't care about your drugs, or your money. Keep it all. I just want information-" Jason snapped at the man. That wasn't entirely true though. "Well, unless you deal to kids. I'll break your fucking knee caps if I catch you or your guys on a school yard. You may be working for Wayne Enterprises now, but that doesn't mean I trust you dirtbags." Black Jack was silent for a moment as he examined the man with a critical eye, then he suddenly burst into laughter.

"Yeah, you're definitely him! Alright Hood, you stay out of our finances, and you got a deal," the man replied. He turned to leave, waving his men out of the warehouse. "Somebody clean this up!" he called, gesturing toward the injured man on the floor, nursing his bleeding knee. Two of his men grabbed the guy by the armpits and dragged him out with them. Black Jack turned back to Jason a final time and said, "Well, the other lords might not be as easy to convince as me."

"Don't worry. I'll handle it. And one last line of business," Jason called after him. Black Jack turned and waited for the man to continue. "There are assassins running around Gotham. See what you can dig up." The man gave a nod and retreated from the warehouse. Cars sounded from outside; once they were gone, Roy dropped down from above.

"Live ammo?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow. Jason cuffed the back of his head.

"Shut up. I barely grazed the bastard. They don't make criminals like they used to," he snapped back. Roy mock pouted and gave a smirk.

"Or maybe-"

"Or maybe nothing, Harper. I can still kick your ass," Jason answered. Roy laughed in amusement, wrapping an arm around his friends' shoulder.

"That a challenge?"

"It's a fact."

As the two of them stepped out of the warehouse, there was a crackle over the comm.

"AAAH! SHIT! They're fucking everywhere!" They heard Lian scream over the comm. Jason and Roy exchanged worried looks.

"Speedy?!" Roy called, but he got no response. "Lian?" He tried again, but still nothing. "Baby girl, can you hear me?!" Silence. Roy looked at Jason, eyes wide. Roy didn't panic much; when he did, it was almost always over his baby girl.

"Oracle, where-" Jason began, but Oracle was already one step ahead of him.

"Her last recorded location was Old Gotham," she answered.

"Let's go, we gotta help her," Roy shouted, pulling out a grappling gun.

* * *

Lian, a.k.a. 'Speedy', smiled as she flew rooftop to rooftop. Ah, how she loved not being attached to her dad's hip. Not that she didn't love her dad, she did to the core, but he nagged. _"Did you bring enough arrows?" "Are you sure you don't want long sleeves with that outfit?" "Go back to your room young lady and put something decent on for patrol this instant. A boob window is not decent!" "Pull your hair up into a bun so an enemy doesn't take hold of it." "You are not going on patrol in those shorts! Nu uh! Go put something else on!"_ And on and on and on. What was wrong with showing some cleavage or some booty? She had a great body! What he didn't know didn't hurt him, so she was wearing her red long sleeve shirt with the boob window, black leggings with booty denim shorts and leather booties, quiver on her back, bow in her left hand and looking for trouble. The boy kind or assassin kind. She wasn't being picky. Who says you can't have a little bit of fun while on patrol?

Wait, her dad says that. Business first, fun later. _Pft, whatever Dad._

She landed on the rooftop of an apartment complex in Old Gotham and looked around. Everything looked and seemed hunky dory. The only thing that bothered her was how quiet it was. She didn't know Gotham City to be quiet. This little area seemed to have no activity going on. She looked around and spotted a large green front load garbage bin. She calculated the distance and jumped silently onto it, slipping slightly as her shoes had no treads. She was also regretting wearing heel as they made noise. Good for attracting boys, not good for keeping assassins in the dark.

She lowered herself to the ground and checked her surroundings. To the left some five yards away, ran a parallel narrow alley; right was the same deal. In front of the structure she knew was an oddly quiet street and a small parking lot for the residents of the structure. Old Gotham was known for seedy crime; for this area to be this quiet was odd. She walked slowly down the back alley toward the left alley, heeling clicking softly. She cursed herself again for wearing heels as every step sounded like thunder in her ears. She shook the thought off and nocked an arrow, eyes darting around slowly to check for enemies. She turned slowly to check her back.

As she got to the intersection, she checked both the left and right and turned to the right, glancing around. The right led to a dead end but she felt safer going this way, despite her dad saying dead ends were more dangerous. She continued walking slowly but efficiently until she heard the slightest whisper of fabric. She stopped, listened while pulling the arrow back and loosing it in the direction of the sound. The red arrow embedded itself in between some bricks, in the mortar. She nocked another arrow and tuned into the sounds in the alley. Somebody was here but she didn't know where. Suddenly, dozens upon dozens of figures appeared from windows and fire escapes surrounding her. Her green eyes grew wide with horror; her brain registering that she could never take that many down.

"AAAH! SHIT! They're fucking everywhere!" she screamed into the comm as the assassins started to drop from their positions and surround her on the ground.


	7. Charlie Foxtrot

**Charlie Foxtrot**

Kaden sat in front of the Batcomputer in the Cave bringing up various feeds from different parts of Gotham City. It was a struggle to type with just his left hand, but the BatComputer was also equipped with speech recognition software; he was easily keeping up with everyone by using the headset to both communicate and pull up video footage, documents, photos and even hack. It irritated him nonetheless as hacking by voice recognition was not as easy as using a keyboard to hack.

Before Alfred and Damian had locked down the Cave and taken their positions – Alfred by the locker room and Damian in front of the Batcomputer - Alfred had brought down Star's toy box, bed, bowls and food. Star had pranced over to Alfred upon seeing her toy box, then unearthed her clown squeaker toy, trotted around the Cave, toy squeaking from her jaws nibbling it, before she settled by Damian's feet content to destroy her personal enemy. She dropped her toy, then growled and pawed at it. Suddenly, she stopped, backed up and then...she pounced, the clown making a squeak of protest. Damian glanced down at her, lifted an eyebrow and shook his head before going back to looking around the Cave; this dog must have a few screws loose. Titus never did such idiotic antics when he was alive.

Star glanced up at Damian for a moment when he shook his head, then gave all of her attention back to the clown. Her enemy in her paws, she lifted it into her black jowls and shook it back and forth by the butt. She threw it down in a bodyslam move, then grabbed its little blue butt by her front teeth, put one black paw on its midsection and _yanked._ The fabric gave a little at first, but she wasn't satisfied so she yanked again and again until there was a _riiiiiiiiip._ Satisfied, she dropped the the piece of blue fabric she ripped off to the side, re-positioned her black paw onto the head and began to dig for the treasure with her muzzle. She tossed little white puffs of polyester stuffing out until she found her treasure – a clear plastic squeaker – and began squeaking it in glee.

Kaden turned around at hearing the squeaker and sighed; another toy destroyed to Star's prey drive. He set the headset down for the moment and began to stand up to retrieve the squeaker. Star definitely should not be playing with that; she could choke.

"Save it Kaden. Go back to computer, I've got it," Damian said.

"AAAH! SHIT! They're fucking everywhere!" Lian screamed over the comm. Kaden fell back in his seat hard, but things only went south from there. Damian retrieved the squeaker from Star and jogged over to the computer.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"I don't know! Oracle-"

"It's Lian, she's in trouble. Roy and Jason are on it, but-" Oracle started, but something caught her attention. He heard keys clacking loudly over the comm. "Someone's in my system. They're trying to access the Justice League's systems through here! Ghost!"

"On it!" Kaden replied, putting the headset back on, waiting for access. Once granted access into the tower's systems, he joined Oracle on a hunt for the intruder. Kaden had a bit of trouble keeping up with Oracle, having to resort to voice commands; he was so used to just applying his skills via keyboard. Eventually, they found the intruder in the system.

"We've got him. Isolate and kick him out," Kaden said. Ghost and Oracle worked in tandem to nail down the intruder and prevented him from getting further into the system. After a several long minutes, they forced him out of the system and hacked into his, destroying all of his files in the process to prevent him from making another attempt. Kaden heaved a sigh and leaned back in his chair, wiping his brow.

"Shit, that was intense. Are you sure we're secure?" Kaden asked.

"Definitely. I'm running several security scans as we speak. I'll start writing new security protocols in the morning," Barbara replied. Kaden sighed and raked his good hand through his hair and groaned; a red flashing light in the corner of the Batcomputer's screen caught his eye. He sat up and looked at it - someone was hacking into the Cave's systems!

"Shit!" he shouted, jumping up in his seat. "Oracle, someone's hacking into the Batcave's systems! I can't lock them out!" Damian and Kaden looked on horrified as the Batcave's security systems started shutting down. "The Justice League was a red herring! You guys, you need-" Oracle shouted over the computer, but she was shut off and the sounds of the large Kryptonite-laced steel doors of the cave opening echoed through the cave. Damian unsheathed his katana and stood several feet in front of Kaden. Star growled lowly, the whole cave eerily silent.

"Kaden, focus on getting the security back up," Damian barked. Kaden nodded and got to work, managing to reestablish a link with Barbara; they worked together on a desperate mission to get the security system back online. Suddenly, a sound Damian recognized from his endless days of training as a child caught his attention: the swish of several throwing stars hurled towards him. He deflected them easily using the blunt edge of his katana. He watched as assassins started pouring into the cave, a dozen at the very least. They wasted no time, challenging Damian head on.

"Damian Al Ghul," one of the assassins shouted, pointing directly at him. Damian ducked an attack and kneed the attacker in the stomach before matching blades with another.

"It's Wayne!" Damian shouted back, flipping over the head of an assassin.

"Your grandfather offers you a place by his side! Redemption! Turn the boy over to us and you shall be rewarded."

"Tt, over my dead body," Damian bit out as he impaled one of the assassins in the right shoulder with his katana.

"Aw, you do care!" Kaden quipped from behind him. Damian snorted and turned his sights on the messenger.

"Father would be most displeased if something happened to you. That's all," Damian shot back. Kaden shook his head, not quite believing him, and returned to work getting the Cave's security back up. In the meantime, Kaden had a thought; he glanced over his shoulder, across the cave at the Bat-Bot - something Bruce had been tinkering with - and he grinned like the devil. Damian continued to fight off the assassins, but a few of them slipped past him to kill Kaden.

"Kaden!" Damian shouted. Kaden turned in his chair and grinned as the assassins raised their swords to strike, but the blades never reached their intended target; the two assassins were hauled into the air by the Bat-Bot, which proceeded to smack them into one another before tossing them aside.

"Tt, show off," Damian snorted.

"Who, _me?_ Never," Kaden responded innocently while shrugging his good shoulder before turning back to the keyboard.

Damian sighed and threw the assassin behind him over his shoulder. Over to his left, he heard the distinct _bam_ of a shotgun being discharged. Alfred officially meant business when he brought out the Remington 870. The aged butler kept the shotgun in a small alcove near the lockers so should anything happen, he had easy access to it. He pumped the shotgun - ejecting the used shell and primed another - aimed and shot another assassin in the back.

"I've got control of the system!" Oracle declared. Kaden sighed, thankful that one thing was sorted; now to see if he could help Damian and the others. He turned to see Damian, the Bat-Bot, and even Alfred fighting off the assassins. Star had one of them pinned to the ground, his throat in her jaws; at even the slightest movement, she growled menacingly. Kaden gasped as he ducked, barely avoiding a throwing star, quickly twisting to the left to avoid an assassin following behind with his sword raised. He cursed under his breath, his wounded arm making him vulnerable, an easy target...or so it would seemed. He waited for the assassin to turn to take another turn at him, then dropped to the ground as soon as the assassin got close enough. He kicked his legs up into the assassin's gut and threw him across the cave, smashing him into a nearby wall and rendering him unconscious. Getting back up from that move was a tad tricky, but Kaden had Bat-Bot to cover him.

_._._._._

Kon and Clark were talking about various things while flying to Nanda Parbat - relationships, work, the Batcave and its wonders - when they heard Lian screaming. The two locked eyes with each other, nodded and Clark grasped Kon's foot lightly which caused Kon to jerk back. Kon was still learning how to fly. He had just learned how to unlock his potential to age (it was both creepy and fascinating) and fly a few months ago and Clark was giving him flying lessons. Kon groaned softly at what this emergency meant - a piggy back ride from Superman.

Kon let out all of his breath in a big whoosh of air and floated over to Clark in defeat, put one hand on each of Clark's shoulders firmly, tucked each foot around Clark's feet and braced for dear life. Despite being half-Kryptonian, Kon wasn't used to going as fast as Clark; it was a little scary getting a ride from him. Thrilling, but scary.

"Ready?" Clark asked.

"Just get it over with, _Superman_ ," Kon bit out. Just a little longer and he'll be flying like Supes. Just a little longer. Clark shook his head and zoomed off, arriving in Gotham in record time. Kon wrenched himself off Clark upon arrival and looked around, trying to locate Lian.

"See her, Clark?"

Clark took a cursory glance and found her in Old Gotham fighting assassins off with the Flash a block away.

"Over there. Let's go,"Clark pointed to where she was and then took off. Kon sighed; easy for Clark to say. Kon's take offs where still, well, what was the simile Clark had used a few days ago? Oh yea, he looked like a loon taking off. No grace, especially if he was in the air because he had nothing to help control him. He turned himself North and gently took off...and promptly flew backwards a few meters. He stopped himself and growled midair, tearing at his hair in frustration. _Dammit! WHY MUST THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN?! GRRRRR! I'm sure Tim would love to see your proficiency in FLYING BACKWARDS! COME ON, CONNOR! This should be easy stuff. Point yourself where you want to go and take off gently._ He shook his head to clear his mind, aimed where he wanted to go and took off, this time in the proper direction.

Upon arriving twenty seconds later, Kon saw Clark and Wally picking off multiple assassins. There were so many he had no idea how Lian had fended them off for the minute she was alone; Roy and Ollie had taught her well. Instead of trying to swoop in or dive bomb like Clark usually does - which took precision - Kon lowered himself at a controlled rate. When he hit the ground (yes! First time not making a crater in the earth!), he tapped an assassin on the shoulder, waited for him to turn around and punched him square in the face. He took out the ones on the outside perimeter while Clark and Wally finished the inside. Several more assassins sprung from the shadows and moved to attack; someone must've warned them about Clark and Kon because they were armed with Kryptonite weapons. Fortunately, Roy had impeccable timing; as the assassins made their charge, Arsenal dived from a building across the way and fired a trick arrow; the arrow head exploded and released an electric net, ensnaring the charging assassins and shocking them into unconsciousness. He landed on the ground, rolling to lessen the impact and brushed himself off.

"Speedy?" he called.

"Daddy?" Lian whispered, tears pooling in her eyes; she had never been so happy to see her dad. Roy saw her in the far left corner - where Flash had carried her to protect her so he, Clark and Kon could work effectively - sprinted to her and scooped her up, hugging her tightly to his chest. She was beat up and had cuts all over her arms and legs, but she seemed otherwise intact.

"Shit, I should have never let you go off alone!" he mumbled into her hair, worried and angry. He silently gave his thanks to each of them while he held her a little tighter. "Are you okay? Are all of you okay?" Roy asked, spotting the Kryptonite weaponry and kicking it aside. Lian clung to her father, too shaken up to thank her saviors. Common thugs and crime bosses were one thing; being swarmed by the deadliest assassins in the world was an entirely different beast.

"We're okay. Where's Jason?" Clark asked. Roy swore under his breath and looked off into the direction of the cave.

"He raced back to the Cave. This was all a distraction. We need to get back quickly. The Cave's under attack," he answered. Wally took off an instant later with Clark behind him.

"I'm sorry Kon, but-"

"Don't worry! Go, I'll find Tim. I haven't been able to reach him; I'm worried." Kon called back, waving the man off. Kon turned and paced off a bit, rubbing his hands together. _Alright, let's give this flying thing another go._ Before he could go anywhere, he felt Roy's hand on his shoulder.

"Be careful," he said. Kon nodded in return and without another word, he jumped into the sky and started to fall. "Crap, crap, crap!" He nearly crashed into the top of the building, catching himself just mere inches from it. "One day I'll get the hand of this, I swear. Now Tim, where are you?" he muttered, ears open, listening for the man. His ears twitched when he heard something and turned toward the direction it came from, "that way." He attempted to fly in that direction, only to slam backward into a building. "Ow." He hovered away from the building, rubbing the back of his head and glared in the direction he wanted to go. Sure enough, he got it this time, though maybe it would be best to take it slow for now.

_._._._._

Ra's sipped his wine as he sat in a cushioned chair, having watched the footage of the assault on the Batcave. The _failed_ assault. The first test to see if the boy was worthy of the League was inconclusive, but as he watched the boy's resourcefulness, watched him fend off attackers with one arm, Ra's interest was piqued. Young minds were impressionable, like putty in one's fingers. The boy was no assassin, but he could be molded into one, into an heir worthy of the Al Ghul legacy.

To that end, he needed to remove the boy from the influence of his friends and family. He needed to isolate him and nudge carefully in the direction he desired. He needed someone skilled, someone he could trust to perform the task of spiriting the teen away.

"You wished to see me, Master?" came a woman's voice from the shadows. Ra's carefully placed the cup down on the desk and stood, turning to face his minion.

"Yes. You will claim this boy for me. This Kaden Todd. Capture him and bring him to me. He shall be joining us," Ra's said smoothly. From the shadows, emerged a woman garbed in green with long black hair. Her face was obscured by a white mask, shaped like a cat with a wide Cheshire grin. She carried two visible Japanese sai around her waist.

"Consider it done, Master," the woman said.


	8. Aftermath

Jason sprinted up the walkway to the main cave after he parked the motorcycle, worried sick about Kaden. He had yelled at Clark to open the steel doors faster, but it had even taken the Man of Steel precious minutes - minutes Jason didn't have - to open the doors closing off the Cave to the outside world, mainly because Bruce had the foresight to think Clark might try to open them. Bruce had laced the steel with Kryptonite. Bruce was paranoid, but Jason never thought he would actually _lace the steel doors_ with Kryptonite to keep the Supers out. Clark had to resort to heat vision to open the door.

"Go," Clark said when he had opened the door, "Metropolis needs me." Jason nodded his thanks and ran into the cave corridor.

"KADEN!" he yelled as he rounded the bend to the main was sitting in the chair at the Batcomputer, staring blankly at it.

 _"Alfred? Star? Damian?" Kaden cried out, turning to fully examine the scene that lay before him as the chaos died down minutes after throwing the assassin into the wall. He could feel acid rising in his throat and he gripped onto the back of the Batcomputer's supple leather chair trying to find some form of anchor. A dozen or so bodies clad in black lay gutted, shot, slashed or some combination, blood and tissue (and God knows what else) marring the Batcave floor and walls; even the assassin he had rendered unconscious hadn't been saved. Kaden could tell the assassin had tried to stalk towards him again as the assassin wasn't killed where he was thrown; a gun shot wound in the stomach had obliterated his insides. Alfred used buck shots: an exact shot wasn't necessary to kill them._

 _Kaden dragged himself into the computer chair, trying to take deep breaths, shaking. He had seen a dead body before from a distance when he fought the Scarecrow with Damian and that one time at the docks with his father, but never this many up close and personal, in a place he considered a second home. He bolted out of his seat ready to defend himself as he felt something warm and wet nudge his good arm. He looked down to see Star's big brown eyes gazing adoringly at him, jaws and paws bloody from the battle. Kaden's breath started to hitch, coming in sharper. He backed away from her and curled into ball into the chair, hands on his ears trying to block out the pounding in his ears. He cried, rocking himself back and forth. He didn't know how long he cried, but looking at the Batcomputer seemed more safe than anything else. Nothing bad existed by staring at the Batcomputer._

"Kaden? Kaden, are you alright?" Jason asked, kneeling in front of him and hugging him tightly. When Jason let go and looked at him in the face, Kaden looked at him blankly and slowly buried his head in the crook of his dad's neck, inhaling the smell of his dad's cologne. At that moment, he just wanted to make everything disappear. Jason held him tightly, rocked him softly and rubbed in between his shoulder blades, soothing him. His poor child. Why hadn't he _been_ there when the League broke in? _How_ did they even break in? The Batcave was an impenetrable fortress; he should have been perfectly safe down here. Dammit. Could he not keep his child safe?

He looked around; where was Alfred? Was he okay? That would be the last fucking straw. He picked up Kaden - he didn't want to let his son go for an instant - and started walking over bodies to look for Alfred and Damian. For once, Kaden didn't protest and snuggled into him, eyes closed, whimpering slightly. _My poor kid. My poor, poor kid. I am going to kill those fucking bastards when I find them,_ Jason thought as he walked over to the infirmary, hearing grunts.I am definitely killing that bastard the next time I see him, promise be damned. No one hurts my baby and gets away with it, he thought as he grabbed a suture kit, bandages, a blanket to keep Kaden from going into shock and skin-safe scissors. He came back, cut off Kaden's clothes and began sewing up a deep graze on Kaden's right arm made from the throwing star he barely avoided; Jason wasn't as good as Alfred, but Dick often preferred Jason because he had a gentler hand. The surface stitches on his right shoulder had torn which Jason cleaned and sewed; he splinted his son's left ankle as it was clearly sprained. Jason wrapped him up in the warmed blanket,and carried him upstairs to his room. He helped him into some pajamas, tucked him in and said gently, "Try and get some sleep, kiddo. I love you."

_._._._.

"You're an idiot," Kon snapped, angry and worried. He had his arm slung around Tim's waist, and one of Tim's arms around his shoulders as he practically dragged the man back into the Cave through the clock entrance. Like Lian, he'd been ambushed by assassins and had taken quite a beating. Instead of calling for back up, Tim assumed he could take all of of them on. That was until more showed up and his comm was smashed. His suit was torn to shreds, his body covered in a variety of knife and sword wounds, many still fresh.

"It's not the dumbest thing I've ever done," Tim replied chuckling, wincing as the action caused his wounds to bleed anew.

"Pretty close."

"Shut up. You saved my ass right as I needed it."

"Yea, well, what if I hadn't gotten there? Hm? What if Lian hadn't been ambushed? _What then, Wonder Boy?_ " Kon asked, glaring at him.

"Kon, Love, you would have heard me like Clark hears -" Tim's reply died as he saw dead bodies littered all over the Batcave floor, "What the _hell_ happened here?" Damian was coming from another hall, body armor slashed and soaked with blood.

" _Language_ ," Bruce barked behind him, "the Cave was attacked by the League." Bruce brushed past Kon, limping down the stairs. His knees were not what they used to be.

Tim and Kon looked at each other and then at Bruce. "How in the he - how did the _League_ get into the Cave? The doors are steel and laced with _Kryptonite_ for Heaven's sake!" Tim exclaimed, unwrapping his arm from Kon's neck and nearly crumpled to the floor. Kon caught him and picked him up. Tim glared at him weakly.

"I haven't updated the security since the Joker died. Ra's must have found a weakness in my security systems and exploited it. He's done it before."

"Yes, we found that out," Damian grunted as he lifted another dead body over his shoulder to move to another room to be examined. He walked down the hall he came from, leaving a bloody trail behind him. Kon swallowed hard and looked at the stairs across from him hearing something.

"He attacked via the cave's own network," Kaden piped up, slowly coming down the opposite set of stairs from the kitchens. He couldn't sleep after being tucked in so he decided to head back downstairs. He moved toward the computer, purposely not looking at the carnage, pulling up several files. "They faked an attack on the Justice League to draw our attention and infiltrated security while Oracle and I booted them out. Before we realized what was going on, they'd taken over most of the Cave's internal security systems."

Bruce nodded, heaving a sigh as he skimmed over the files. It appeared every security system he had would have to be updated starting tonight. He looked at the carnage around him and rubbed his temples, feeling a migraine building. He despised killing, but when it came to Kaden, certain concessions had to be made. The League didn't back down when simply defeated; they only ceased when killed. This was the reason he had patrolled with Dick: if the League did infiltrate, he didn't want to witness nor participate in any killing. He knew and trusted Damian and Alfred to handle it; their training was extensive.

Kon carried a bleeding Tim to the medical bay where he let Tim order him around to find the supplies he needed and helped get Tim connected to some blood. He had lost a lot of blood and needed blood desperately. Of the two, Tim was still better at suturing wounds, but he saw Alfred in his peripheral vision, allowed him to take over and held Tim's hand instead. Twenty minutes into stitching Tim up, his cell phone rang and he picked it up, knowing who it was by the ring tone.

"Yea, Clark?"

"I need you to take over my patrol of Metropolis."

"But..."

"I know, but I've got to take over Lantern's post at the Watchtower." Kon swore and nodded. He looked at Tim, who was looking at him drowsily; the heart and blood pressure monitors showed he was stable, so Kon wasn't too worried about him. After all, Bats were notoriously hard to kill. He sighed in defeat.

"I'll be there," he disconnected and looked at Tim, tucking a few of strands of his black hair behind his ear, "Hey, I have to go. I'll be back as soon as I can. I expect you to still be alive when I come back, Rob." Tim smiled at the old name and nodded. Kon kissed his temple and walked out, hearing the rumble of a motorcycle. Dick. Kon waved at him as he parked in the lot, then took off with no mishaps for once. Dick took one look at the scene before him, then looked at his son, briskly walked over to him and enveloped him in a hug. Kaden hissed. Shoulder! Shoulder! Shoulder!

"Papa! Papa! Pa! PA! OW, OW, OWWWW!" Dick backed off, looking sheepish. Then he looked at Kaden and said very seriously, "I am not old enough to be called 'pa,' punk."

"Where's Wally?" Bruce asked from the computer console.

"He got called back to Central City. Captain Cold made an appearance." Bruce nodded without looking up. Dick turned his attention back to Kaden, threading his gloved hands affectionately through his son's hair before patting the side of his face and turning to change.

Kaden sighed deeply as he made his way back to his bedroom. It was past one in the morning and he'd been fighting sleep for the last couple of hours. He was too distracted by the scene down in the cave, those dead, cold eyes staring at him. It still bothered him. He couldn't let his parents, Bruce or Damian know that. He had to prove to them he could handle it, that he was strong. Heaving another sigh, he finally crawled into bed, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. He knew from experience that tonight wasn't going to be a good night for sleep.

_._._._.

After the raid on the Cave, Jason was more determined than ever to find the League's location. Roy went back out on patrol with Jason to make sure he didn't do anything stupid, while Damian, and Bruce got to work on updating the Cave's security. Dick knew part of what would help Kaden would be seeing Star without all of the blood and gore, so he gave her a good bath and dried her before joining Damian and Bruce. It was barely three am when Roy and Jason got back to the Cave and changed back into civilian attire. Roy crawled straight into bed, but Jason had wanted to check on Kaden first.

Dick managed to convince him to take Star, go to bed and get some rest and that he'd check on Kaden; he knew the man was exhausted, and likely running on fumes and anger. They both knew Kaden _was not_ alright. Seeing all those dead bodies had affected him, as much as he tried to claim otherwise when the two had talked to him before he had headed off to bed. He was like his dad, trying to bottle things up and act tough, act like things didn't affect him, but Dick _knew_ him, _knew_ them both. The things they tried to ignore, the feelings they locked up and tried to forget, it affect them _more_. But Kaden was a lot like him too. He wore his heart on his sleeve, so when he tried to hide something, both he and Jason could see through him. Dick knew from the get go what was wrong because he'd been there before, many years ago. He could still remember the first time he ever saw a dead body and he had been younger than Kaden at only twelve years old. He had nightmares for a month after the fact. Kaden, on the other hand, had never seen a dead body up close and personal before, and to see one like that in one's own home...

Dick stopped before Kaden's bedroom door and he could hear him tossing and turning, could hear the sound of desperate, frightened moaning. Without a second thought, Dick threw open the door and rushed to his son's bedside. The teen was tossing and turning, muttering and moaning in his sleep. Dick scooped the teen up into his arms and shook him gently.

"Kaden, wake up," he called as the teen squirmed in his arms, "Little Wing, c'mon, it's okay, wake up!" He tried again. "Baby Bird, it's Papa! You're having a bad dream, c'mon, wake up!" Dick called, shaking the teen again. Kaden bolted awake with a startled cry and crashed against his papa's chest. Dick held him tight and stroked his hair softly. "Sssh. Sssh, it's okay Baby Bird, I got you. You're safe. You're okay," Dick whispered. Kaden whimpered a little as tears threatened his eyes. It was an awful nightmare, not one he cared to relive, or think about. Everyone he loved, dead. He clung to Dick and cried silently into his chest and Dick sat there and held him, stroking his hair soothingly.

"It's okay, you're okay," Dick repeated. "Talk to us. Talk to me, okay? Don't bottle it up." Dick held the teen while he took a few deep, shaky breaths. Kaden sighed deeply and managed to calm himself down. He knew his papa was right; keeping this stuff bottled up was making things worse. He sighed again and pulled away from the man, looking out the window solemnly.

"I...seeing those bodies...I thought I could handle it," Kaden began, staring down at the bed. He crossed his arms over his chest, eyes focusing on an invisible spot on the bed. A shiver made its way through his body as he recalled the blank stare of the corpses in the Cave. He still didn't understand why he'd been so affected when he handled the dead bodies at the docks just fine. Or maybe he didn't. Maybe he just managed to push it aside. Maybe it _had_ affected him and he just refused to acknowledge it. And it had built into _this_. "I don't know. I guess I'm...upset? Scared? Disturbed? How can someone see so much at once? And then I imagine-" Kaden paused, tears welling up at the corners of his eyes and a lump forming in his throat. Dick sighed and hugged the teen tight against his chest.

"You imagine all of us like that? Dead?" Dick whispered. Kaden only nodded, not trusting his voice to speak. Every day, his dad, his papa, Damian, Tim, everyone he loved faced down death when they went out on patrol, but this mess with the League of Assassins _really_ sent the message home, made the danger real, tangible. Dick gently lifted the boy's chin, made him look at him and ran a soothing hand through the teen's hair.  
"I'm not going anywhere, okay? Me, your dad, Uncle Tim, Damian, Grandpa Bruce, nothing is going to happen to us. Okay?" Dick said softly. Kaden gave a nod and Dick kissed his forehead. "You'll see. This will all be over soon and it'll just be a distant memory. A bad, distant memory and everything will work out fine."

_._._._.

Cheshire slipped through the window into her victim's room, silent as a shadow and stood above the sleeping teen. Sleeping like this, he looked defenseless and innocent, but she knew so much better. Waynes of any generation were not to be trifled or underestimated; each were deadly in their own unique way. Getting past Wayne Manor's security system proved to be more difficult than expected; she had expected the system to still be down after the break-in, but she enjoyed a challenge nonetheless. She knew the Waynes to be an overprotective family and for them to not have any security measures up after a break-in, well, that wouldn't have been _any_ fun for her. Cheshire dug through a pouch at her side, drawing a simple handkerchief and a bottle of chloroform; sleeping or not, she wasn't going to take any chances. She leaned down over the teen and grabbed him, holding the soaked rag over his face. Kaden woke with a start, thrashing violently as he tried to escape. He grabbed one of her arms, trying to pry the cloth away. He had to do _something_. With the last of his strength, he managed to kick the lamp off of the night stand. It struck the floor, shattering, causing Cheshire to swear under her breath.

Jason and Dick both woke with a start, hearing the lamp crashing against the floor. Star was scratching violently at the door, growling, hackles raised. She was looking for a way out so she could attack down the intruder.  
"Kaden!" Jason shouted in a panic. Both he and Dick bolted out of bed and raced for Kaden's room, Star ahead of them. Jason kicked open the door to see Cheshire carrying Kaden over her shoulders, one foot on the windowsill. Star barrelled into the room and bit into Cheshire's slim leg, growling. She backed off when she smelled poison, but she took a piece of the assassin's tight leggings. Jason growled and attempted to make a move on her, but she pressed a poisoned sai against the unconscious teen's throat .

"Uh uh uh. Not so fast. One wrong move, and I puncture his pretty little throat. We wouldn't want that, would we?" Cheshire growled menacingly. Jason and Dick exchanged looks as she turned to slip out of the window.  
"Wait, please-" Jason called after her desperately. Cheshire turned to him, glancing at him over her shoulder. "Don't take my son, please."

"Sorry, Master's orders," she replied, before vanishing into the night. Star growled and barked at the vanishing shadow helplessly, torn fabric between her paws.


	9. Prisoner

**Prisoner**

Seething rage, panic and worry took a hold of Jason as he stormed into the Cave and made his way to the locker room, his family and best friend trailing yards behind him shouting his name. He flung open his locker, ripped off his pajama bottoms and began putting on his Arkham suit for the third time today. He pulled a boot from his locker out, hands shaking in anger and attempted to jam it on his right foot to no avail. He screamed and threw the offending boot out of the locker room and pulled his hair in frustration.

Dick took a few steps back to avoid being hit by the boot as it came careening out of the locker room. He picked it up and turned it around recognizing that this was one of Jason's Arkham shoes. Dick knew these days Jason only pitched things when he was scared - or angry - enough to revert to his Red Hood personality, which he rarely did thanks to Dinah's therapy sessions which he attended regularly. He looked back at the rest of his family and motioned for them to stay behind. He walked slowly into the locker room, hands up to show he wasn't dangerous and approached Jason as calmly as he could, kneeling in front of him; Star tagged behind Dick, but sensed the danger and curled into a small ball at the entrance of the locker room, torn fabric in her jaws, whimpering softly.

"Jason," Dick said softly, "look at me. I need you to look at me." Jason looked up, blue eyes filled with fury and worry yet somehow distant. _He is probably reliving Joker's torture in the back of his mind_ , Dick thought; he swallowed, took a deep breath to remind himself to stay calm for _both_ of their sake, and squeezed his husband's shoulders firmly. "We are going to find him, Jason, but I need you to take a few deep breaths and calm down. Going out there this angry will get you killed."

"Calm down? _Calm down?_ They took him, Dick! They took _our son!_ They took our son, and you want me to _calm down_?!" Jason's voice steadily got louder as he kept talking, ending in a yell. How could Dick stay so fucking calm? Jason stood up abruptly, almost causing Dick to lose his balance, and began pacing. "How can you be so fucking calm?! They took _our son,_ Dick! Do you _even care_?!" Dick gasped as if he'd been struck. He forgot all about the violent anger being part of Jason's PTSD and stood up, body tense, glaring at Jason.

"How _dare_ you! I _love_ Kaden! But one of us has got to keep a clear head and it sure as hell isn't you!" Dick snapped, stepping into Jason's space pushing him into a corner until he was boxed in. Roy stepped in at that moment placing his hands on both of their chests, forcefully shoving them apart.

"Cut the crap, the both of you! A pissing contest isn't going to help anyone!" Roy shouted over the two of them. Jason growled and kicked his locker shut before storming out to the training area to beat up a boxing bag. Dick hoofed it toward the computer, swearing angrily in Romani. He flopped down in the seat and began typing in the number for Barbara.

Roy sighed and headed toward the training area; he knew Jason would talk to him more easily if he was beating something up. "Did you see who it was?" he asked as he pulled up a stool.

"Yes. _Cheshire_ ," Jason spit out in between punches. Roy's eyes widened, breath knocked out of him. Jade?! His ex-wife? Unable to sit still, he stood up and pulled at his hair while pacing. If she knew Kaden was at the Manor, did she know Lian was there? Would she even recognize Lian? Oh God, he had to get Lian out of Gotham. He had to.

"Jaybird, I'm so sor-"

"It's not your fault," Jason interrupted, "It's not like you control her." He paused for a minute then looked at Roy, "You should get Lian somewhere safe. I'll never forgive myself if she is taken too." Roy walked over to Jason and enveloped him in a tight hug, helping ground Jason back into reality.

"We'll find him, Jay. I promise you, we will find him and bring him home, even if I have to kill Jade to do it." He pulled back and ruffled Jason's hair, "Under that crocodile persona, you really are a teddy bear. I'll be back in thirty. You _better_ be here." Jason scowled at the teddy bear thing, but shoved him off and watched as Roy walked off to make a few calls. He was calling Ollie, no doubt; he knew Lian would be safest with him.

Jason turned from the training room and walked slowly, not knowing whether to walk to the Batcomputer where Dick was calling Barbara for the second time or to the locker room to get his medication. He muscles twitched, head buzzing with a million "what if's," memories, and his skin started to crawl. He started towards the locker room.

"Jason." Jason whipped around and saw Bruce standing in front of him, his steady air of calmness and protection both comforting and aggravating Jason. Bruce placed his hand on Jason's right shoulder and squeezed gently, locked eyes with his son and said, "I promise you, Jason, we _will_ find Kaden." He took his hand off, then walked towards Dick. Jason shuddered and made a beeline to his locker -picked up his boot along the way - opened it, and took out a bottle of Ativan. He didn't need it much, but sometimes his anxieties and his fears just became _too_ much to handle. He opened it, grabbed a pill and swallowed it down dry. He sighed, thunked his head softly on the shelf in his locker and put his wayward shoe and pills away before closing the door closed softly.

As he came out of the locker room, Alfred ushered Jason to sit beside him and handed him a cup of hot Earl Grey tea. Jason looked up at his old friend and smiled, accepting the cup and taking a delicious sip. It was a simple gesture, but comforting. Dick glanced over his shoulder at Jason who was seeking solace in Alfred and sighed. He knew Jason didn't mean what he said, but it still stung. Barbara appeared on the screen moments later looking a bit disheveled.

"What's going on? You are all in the Cave. You all are _never_ in the Cave at the same time unless something is wrong," she said worriedly. Dick frowned and gave a nod. He opened his mouth to answer, but a lump formed in his throat. He turned away as tears formed; Star padded over, put her soft head on Dick's knee and groaned softly, trying to comfort him. Barbara knew that if Dick couldn't talk about it, _it was bad._

"The League kidnapped Kaden," Tim filled in, stepping beside Dick and placing his hand on the man's shoulder, giving a quick squeeze. Dick flashed an appreciative smile while Barbara cursed.

"Sorry Alf," she said. Alfred just quirked an eyebrow before he made his way upstairs leaving Jason to his thoughts. Dick smiled slightly as he patted Star's head and sighed. He noticed a small square-shaped, torn piece of cloth in Star's teeth and put his hand under her mouth. She gave it up without ceremony and he looked at it curiously.

"Hey Tim, Star had this in her mouth. You think you can-" Dick began, but Tim was one step ahead of him. He took the drooled-on cloth from Dick and ushered him out of the chair.

"Don't know, but we'll see," Tim replied. Barbara said she'd look into some ideas she had of her own and waved good-bye. Dick glanced at Jason - who was finishing his cup of tea - then back at Tim. He patted the younger man's shoulder and then made his way over to his husband. He sat down beside his husband, then scooted over until his hip touched Jason's.

"I'm sorry Dick, I didn't mean-" Jason began, but Dick interrupted, pressing his lips against Jason's. Jason sighed contentedly as the other man ran his fingers through his jet black hair.

"I know," Dick answered simply, "We'll get him back, Jason."

"I wish everyone would stop saying that and start doing it."

"I know, but you'll just have to trust me here. I love you, Jay."

"I love you too, Dickiebird." Jason sighed and leaned against his husband, head on his shoulder, for a few minutes, letting his eyes fall shut. Dick massaged his husband's scalp soothingly. He knew the man was exhausted; he wasn't surprised when he heard light snoring a few minutes later. Dick smiled and kissed the top of his head, continuing to stroke his fingers through the man's soft, black locks.

._._._._._.

Kaden groaned, eyes slowly opening. He closed his eyes quickly as the room spun and he reached up with to massage his left temple to quiet the incessant throbbing. His right was hugging his middle, trying to soothe his stomach, then slowly joined his left in soothing his pounding head. What happened? And where on earth was he? He certainly didn't remember his room feeling this small. He opened his eyes and found himself in a small - no more than 8 feet by 9 feet - room. He was sitting on a twin-sized bed with soft, yellow with red embroidery sheets with a matching pillow on the left wall facing the inside wall . The walls were painted hunter green with white trim; there were no windows and no sign of a bathroom. Each of his ankles was weighted with a heavy shackle, with an ancient style padlock with a long chain that was bolted into the wall in the left corner near a floor lamp that was also bolted but into the ground.

 _That green looks awfully like the color of that woman's shirt..._

"Aw shit!" he yelled, yanking on the chains with his leg. It was bad enough being stuck in a small room. The fact he had gotten kidnapped _again_ \- and by a woman, no less - was even worse. He sighed and thumped his head against the wall. _Think rationally, Kaden. You are trained for this,_ he thought. He looked at the padlocks and tried to determine the best way to unlock them. The lock was in a language he didn't know and appeared to be just a simple combination lock, but it didn't mean he couldn't unlock it. Of course, unlocking the locks was made more difficult with only one arm.

His musings were interrupted when the door handle jiggled then opened. Two figures walked in, one carrying a tray of food and another carried medical supplies. Both were garbed entirely in black. _League assassins_ , he thought, _I've been kidnapped by the League of Assassins. Great. My chances of escaping have gone down to nil. What use am I to the League? I have no connections._

He watched as the assassin carrying the medical supplies quickly checked on and redressed his wounds as well as put his right arm in a sling while the one holding a tray of food set it down next to him. The tray contained a bowl of soup, a small pot of tea, a cup and chopsticks. Great. Chopsticks. He could only use chopsticks with his _right_ hand, his busted hand. He looked up at the assassin with a sneer. "How do I know the food isn't _poisoned_?"

"You don't, Kaden, but I would not fret over poison. The master finds you _quite valuable_ ," the assassin - a female - replied. Kaden's eyes widened; the assassin knew his name. KNEW. HIS. NAME. Quite valuable? What was he? One of Grandpa Bruce's ancient "priceless" antiques? He picked up the chopsticks with his left hand and immediately dropped them on the floor. He groaned in frustration and humiliation. Damn useless right arm. The medic left the room and returned moments later with a spoon. _Finally, something I can use!_ he thought. The two assassins left the room a minute later and allowed Kaden to enjoy his meal in silence and relative peace. The soup, thukpa bhatuk, was quite delicious. He ate it greedily as he hadn't eaten early yesterday.

The teen finished his soup with a satisfied sigh and poured a cup of tea. He sipped the heavenly fluid, feeling his nerves calming slightly, but he kept his guard up. Footsteps echoed above him and soon he heard the footfalls as they descended. _The staircase must be nearby_ , he thought. The door to his tiny room opened and a man with greying hair - white on the sides - draped in a richly embroidered forest green and gold trimmed cloak entered. What appeared to be a very elegant and old - yet deadly - katana rested on his hip. The aged man carried himself with such decorum and superiority that Kaden scooted on his bed until he sat straight like Alfred taught him (though it was quite difficult with a bum arm) and gulped. Two assassins followed behind the man, garbed in black like the other assassins Kaden had seen, except they too had katanas at their waists. The man looked around his Kaden's room - hands behind his back and snapped his fingers. A plush, oxblood colored wingback chair was brought in along with an end table and an expensive tea set while Kaden's tray was swept away. He raised his hand and the assassin bowed, closing the door behind them as they made their exit. It was then that the man showed Kaden any attention. His pale green eyes pierced Kaden's and Kaden looked away; Kaden suddenly felt the room was far too small. It was, in many ways, _far_ too small.

"So," the man said smoothly, sitting in the chair and pouring himself a cup of tea. He raised a brow at Kaden. "Tea?" Kaden shook his head vigorously no. "Pity. It is Damian's favorite." He paused and took a sip while studying Kaden, who didn't quite know whether to believe him or not. "Ah, we meet at last, Kaden Todd-Grayson. It took seventeen years, but we managed to find a way, did we not?"

Kaden frowned as the man spoke. Managed to find a way? The man fucking kidnapped him! Who the fuck was he?!

"Who. Are. You?" Kaden gritted out. He was surprised when the man stood up and bowed while grinning widely.

"You, Kaden, may call me," there was a pause as the man looked up, eyes cold and calculating, "Ra's Al Ghul."


	10. Fear

**Fear**

 _Jason laughed, wrapping_ _his arms around his smiling husband and_ _snickering teenage son, holding them tight. They were at home on the couch watching movies together, enjoying each others company. Jason sighed contentedly as he held both of them, happier than he'd ever been_ _in his life. He glanced out of the window as it started pouring, a_ _bolt of lightning streaking across the sky. In a brilliant flash, Jason found himself standing in the middle of the street. He looked around, confused, recognizing the area as Crime Alley, where he spent most of his childhood. But something was wrong; it was like a ghost town: no people, no cars, nothing but a dark, empty street surrounded by dark foreboding buildings on either side of him._

" _Daddy!" Kaden cried out. Jason turned_ _toward the cry_ _and saw a younger Kaden_ _\- five or six at most_ _\- down the street from him. The boy held his little hand out toward him, tears streaming down his face. Panic and worry ripped_ _through him and he began to run_ _toward his upset son. Lightning pierced the sky and a tall figure stepped behind Kaden, his emerald green jacket striking against the bleak surroundings, stopping Jason in his tracks momentarily._ _Kaden was crying, calling for him_ as _Ra's_ _picked him up. Jason's fear and panic turned into blind rage and he let out a roar, charging at the man. Jason ran faster, but as he ran faster, the two seemed to move farther away from him. Ra's_ _threw a grin back at Jason and walked into the rain, disappearing, Jason watching helplessly._

Jason bolted up in bed, blankets dropping to the floor, his entire body drenched in sweat. He panted heavily and ran a hand through his sweat-drenched hair as he looked around the room in confusion. The last thing he remembered was sitting on a bench in the Cave with Dick. He must've dozed off; Dick probably brought him to bed to rest. Jason sighed and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, the heels of his hands pressing into his eyes, trying to will the nightmare away. No sooner had he banished one nightmare that new ones replaced the old one. He imagined a battered and beaten Kaden - scared and alone - huddled in a corner of some dark tiny room. The thought brought back memories he had buried long ago, memories he wanted to forget. Memories of the Joker, beating him with a crow bar, laughing and taunting him; memories of all the villains he'd ever faced with Batman showing up and taking turns beating him; memories of the Joker filling him up with hate for Bruce, twisting his mind and his thoughts.

He looked down at his hands which were shaking badly, anxiety and hopelessness welling up inside him. He gasped and buried his hands in his hair, taking deep halting breaths. The same thoughts kept racing through his mind, over, and over: _my son needs me. Kaden_ needs _me. My little boy needs me._

Jason glanced at the bag he'd brought with him when they came to the manor and stared at it for several long moments. He got up and moved across the room toward the bag and dug through it, making a satisfied sound when he found what he was looking for: a black cellphone. He stared at the phone sitting in the palm of his hand for several long moments; Dick would kill him if he knew he had it. He hadn't used this phone since he bid farewell to the Red Hood and it still contained all of his old criminal contacts. He was supposed to have burned this - along with the rest of his armor - with Dinah, Kaden and Dick, but for some reason he couldn't. He wasn't sure if they were still viable, but - no, he had to stop thinking like this. The Red Hood was _not_ good for him and it would _not_ help him.

He stuffed the phone into the bag, shuffled back across the room, flopped down onto the bed and heaved a sigh. He didn't regret all the lives he took as the Red Hood; they were criminals who dealt to children, murdered people, abused women and animals, and committed all sorts of other heinous crimes. But his persona as the Red Hood came from a dark place. It came from anger, buried resentment, grief and feelings of betrayal; he felt like he was better having abandoned it. Going back now would undo all the progress he'd made; plus, he had no outfit. The Arkham Knight might not _seem_ different, but he was; he was less aggressive, reckless and brash. He was more calm and collected, channeling his anger better into his work instead of letting it guide him, letting it _become_ his resolve. He was more focused as the Arkham Knight than he ever was as the Red Hood. But when Bruce asked him to dig into his old underworld contacts, asked him to go back to that place which gave Jason the bright idea to re-establish his old information network...a couple of calls couldn't hurt, right?

"Master Jason?" came Alfred's voice. Pulled from his musings, Jason sat up on the bed and spied the butler standing in his doorway with a tray in his hands. He could smell Aflred's cooking: bacon, sausage, eggs toast and hash browns. He smiled and the old man took that as his cue to enter, placing the tray on the nightstand beside him. On the tray was his Wellbutrin XL and Ativan, just in case, a glass of orange juice, a small tea pot and a couple of tea cups. Alfred shuffled across the room and pulled a chair up to Jason's bedside and poured himself a cup of tea.

"I figured you could use the company, Master Jason. That and I intend to sit here until you've eaten every bite," Alfred said, matter-of-factly as he sipped his tea. Jason chuckled in amusement, grabbed the plate and began to eat. He made an 'mmm' sound as he bit into the hash browns. Alfred's food was amazing as always and despite being ninety-four years old, the man still hadn't lost his touch. He glanced up at Alfred who gave a smirk, obviously having heard the satisfied sound. Jason smiled back and then sipped his tea.

"Y'know, Alfred, I'm an adult now. I can take care of myself," Jason pointed out, face splitting into a Cheshire grin.

"Then, Master Jason, I wish you would," the old man replied, amused. Jason finished his breakfast, wolfing it down, his eyes occasionally darting toward the duffel bag across the room. He made a promise to his whole family - especially Dick and Kaden - that he was done with the Red Hood: done with all his contacts, his underworld dealings, everything. However, he saw an opportunity to regain his old information network and he took it. Information directly from the underworld is incredibly useful. The longer he stared at that bag, however, he began to wonder if maybe, just maybe, he should make a few calls...

"That would not be a wise idea, Master Jason," Alfred said curtly, sipping his tea. Jason jerked his head up and stared at Alfred; how the hell - oh wait, he's Alfred. He knows everything. Jason sighed and raked a hand through his hair, placing his plate down and sipping his tea. It was frustrating, feeling so powerless like this, or having some power and not knowing whether or not he should use it.

"He's my son, Alfred," Jason said softly, looking up at the man over the rim of his cup. Alfred sipped his tea silently, allowing Jason to speak. "I'd do anything to save him, to protect him-"

"Even at the expense of your relationships? Yes, I suppose any parent would do the same," Alfred replied. Jason quirked an eyebrow at the comment.

"But?"

"But nothing. I just think you should be careful. Kaden will need both of his parents - parents not arguing with each other - when this is all over." Jason watched the man with a critical eye, sipping his tea. He had a point. For now, he'd wait. Ra's wouldn't kill him, not after all the trouble he went through to capture him. He was safe, for now.

_._._._._

Dick sat at the computer, going over what little they had for the fourth time that morning. He was looking for some connection, looking for something they may have missed, _something_ they may have overlooked. In the meantime, Damian and Tim hit the streets again, hoping to dig up some information from Gotham's underworld. Damian went to pay a visit to Penguin. Old as he was, the Penguin was still one of the best information brokers in Gotham. If there was _any_ information on the League, Penguin would have it. If he were on honest, Dick's mind wasn't completely in the Cave. His thoughts were partially elsewhere, namely his missing son and his sleeping husband. Dick sighed in frustration when he _still_ couldn't find anything and leaned back in the chair, raking his hands through his hair. He heard someone padding in his direction from behind; judging from the wide, languid stride, it had to be Roy. Sure enough, he felt Roy's heavy frame lean against the back of the chair, arms coming over the top and resting lazily over Dick's shoulders.

"Making any headway?" Roy drawled. Dick snorted and shoved himself out of the seat, feeling his temper rising, nerves fraying.

"No. Take a look, maybe another pair of eyes will help. I'm gonna-"

"Go check on Jaybird?" Roy interrupted with a smirk. Dick smiled slightly and gave a nod; before he could walk away, he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Roy gave him that 'we need to talk' look. He frowned and carefully shrugged the man's hand off his shoulder.

"I'm fine, Roy," Dick replied. Roy snorted, crossing his arms over his chest, not convinced.

"Dick, I've known you since we were kids. You are full of shit," Roy answered, "First off, your son was kidnapped by the League of Assassins, so don't tell me you're 'fine.'" Dick opened his mouth to respond, but Roy cut him off. "You always worry about everyone else, but you never take a second to take care of yourself." He wrapped an arm around Dick's shoulders and led him toward the bench, sitting him down and attempting to flop down on the bench only to miss and topple over. Dick's hand came to his forehead as he started laughing from his stomach. Roy gave him a glare because he had to admit, it really did hurt, but it was nice to see Dick laughing.

"I have to say, Dick, concrete really does hurt." Dick burst into another round of giggles.

"I'm so sorry, Roy. Are you okay?" he asked, in between fits of laughter.

"I'm fine. C'mon, talk to me. Stop worrying about Jason for a minute, and worry about yourself," he replied as he hoisted himself onto the bench. Dick heaved an exasperated sigh, raking both hands through his hair.

It was true, he'd been trying to keep it all together for Jason's sake, but the truth was, he was worried _sick_ about Kaden. What bothered Dick the most, however, was why Ra's had gone through all this trouble to kidnap Kaden in the first place. Why did Ra's want Kaden alive? What could Kaden possibly do for him? What value could he have to _him_ , the Master of the League of Assassins? The more he let his mind dwell on it, the more it bothered him, and the more he worried. He was torn between staying here, with Jason who needed him, or going out to look for Kaden. They had no idea where Kaden was, so it made the most sense to stay with the person who was here now, but Kaden was just a boy. Brave as he was, he was still just a boy, surrounded by assassins, led by a madman that could order his death at any moment. They had to get Kaden back. They _had to._

Then there was Jason; he didn't fully understand what the man must be going through, but he remembered what he went through when Jason had been kidnapped. It was a nightmare, and he could feel some of those old fears welling inside him once more. Ra's was a completely different madman to the Joker, but he _was_ a madman. At the core of his worries, he knew how Jason's mind worked. He knew that under pressure, Jason had a bad habit of doing stupid shit. It came from a good place, sure, but it was still stupid.

Dick took a deep breath and massaged his temples. "I just feel so...helpless. Between Kaden being taken and watching Jason breaking down, I have to push how I feel aside. I have to be the rational, cool headed one." Roy just watched him, listening, letting Dick speak. Dick looked over at Roy and flashed him a sad smile. "Jason is the way he is because of me." Roy frowned and shook his head, rubbing Dick's back soothingly.

"No, that wasn't you, that was the Joker-"

"But Jason didn't get the help he needed because of _me_ Roy," Dick said softly, feeling tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. He stared down at the floor in front of him, clasping his hands together as he delved back into the memories. "Jason _needed_ counseling, therapy, or _something_ , but he said no, and I stupidly let it go." He glanced up at Roy again and shook his head. "He's only getting help now because-" Dick opted not to finish that sentence. Jason only got help because his nightmares got _so_ bad, he pulled a gun on Kaden who was trying to wake him - and Dick _hadn't even been there_ like he should have _._ He felt responsible for how Jason was: for his anxiety, for his PTSD, for his anger, all of it. All because he didn't have the sense to push the issue of counseling, to force him to get help.

Roy was at a loss, scrubbing his face with his hands. He wasn't sure what to say to that, even though he agreed that Jason should have gotten help earlier. He watched as a tear ran down Dick's face. Dick had to be feeling so frustrated, helpless, anxious, worried, and angry all at once; yet, he shoved that all aside for the sake of everyone else. Frankly, it was a miracle he hadn't exploded yet. After another few moments of silence, Roy heaved a sigh and got up from the bench, rubbing Dick's back soothingly.

"C'mon, get geared up, we're going out," Roy said smoothly, moving toward the lockers and grabbing pieces of his gear. Dick glanced up at Roy and dried his eyes, confused.

"What?"

"You heard me. Get your gear on. We're going out on patrol," Roy said again, pulling on the pieces of the familiar red and black of Arsenal. Dick sighed and followed suit, pulling on his Nightwing suit and picking up his escrima sticks. Roy turned to him and grinned, patting his shoulders.

"Sitting around this dark cave, fretting about the past and just worrying isn't going to do shit. Let Bruce, Tim, and Barbara handle the detective shit for now. You and I will bang up some skulls and keep up the search for the League."

"But-"

"No buts! Trust me on this, Dickie," Roy interrupted, patting the man on the back and giving his shoulder another squeeze. "You're taking your mind off your burdens for a while. And admire the eye candy," Roy called back with a grin, gesturing to himself. He grinned one of his stupid wide grins and scooped up his bow, moving toward the vehicles.

"Excuse me?" Dick asked, quirking an eyebrow, smirk tugging at his lips. Roy snorted and waved his hand dismissively, turning and walking backwards for a bit.

"Please, no need to be ashamed. This body is a temple," Roy called, flexing his muscles, "No worries, I won't tell Jason how you find me _exceedingly_ attractive." Roy wiggled his eyebrows. Dick snorted and jabbed his friend in the side with his elbow.

"Don't you mean _exceedingly conceited_?"

_._._._

Jason sat on the bed and watched as Alfred left the room, leaving him to his thoughts. Heaving a sigh, he laid back on the bed and focused on his breathing, trying to calm his thoughts. He glanced over at his Ativan, but that was not what he wanted. _Kaden needs me._ There was that thought again, scratching at his mind, unable to shake it, unable to think of anything else. Frustrated, he pushed himself up into a sitting position and glared at the wall, trying to force his thoughts elsewhere.

Eventually, his eyes found the duffel bag and his thoughts changed to the black phone. He frowned, slowly pushing himself up off of the bed and padding across the room. He knelt down in front of the bag and held his hand out toward it, then hesitated - was this _really_ a good idea? Jason growled to himself and clenched his fists, forcing himself away from the bag. He started pacing the room, hands scrubbing at his face. _Kaden needs me._ Jason stopped and looked back at the bag. He moved toward it and knelt down, reaching inside and grabbing the phone. _For Kaden_. He sifted through the numbers, picking one out and ringing it up.

"Hello. This is the-" Jason hesitated for a moment, biting his lip nervously. He steeled his resolve and continued, "this is the Red Hood."


	11. The Demon's Head

**The Demon's Head**

"Ra's Al Ghul," Kaden muttered to himself. His mother's name was Talia Al Ghul and Damian Wayne was Talia's son and his name - he knew from the break in - was once Damian Al Ghul; this meant Ra's Al Ghul was - "You're my grandfather, aren't you?" Kaden asked, eyes trained on the smug, arrogant figure before him. The man grinned at him, clasping his hands as he gave a curt nod.

"Indeed. I am your grandfather," Ra's confirmed, watching the boy with interest, curious as to how he would react. Kaden ran his good hand through his hair, shock and dismay taking over him as his thoughts began to race. _Why didn't I know about him? Why didn't anyone ever_ _fucking_ _tell me? Why didn't Moth-Talia_ _tell me? Why didn't Dami_ _\- is this even_ _fucking_ _real?!_

Kaden wasn't sure how to process this information. He'd heard Damian occasionally mention a grandfather and Moth-Talia mention her father, but conversation about him always stopped when he entered the room. He never thought about why before; why would he? He didn't know his grandfather. The man ever tried to contact him. Why would he fucking care? But, here he was, _in_ the custody of the damn League of Assassins, his grandfather standing before him. His _grandfather_ _-_ Ra's Al Ghul _\- the Demon's Head,_ the leader of the fucking League of Assassins.

Kaden swallowed hard and looked up at the old man, trying to hide his fear and trepidation. "Are you going to kill me?"

Ra's smirked as he crossed one leg in front of the other and gave a dismissive wave. "Of course not, child! You are an Al Ghul; you _are_ part of my _grand_ legacy," Ra's said smoothly, leaning forward conspiratorially, "Besides, if I had wanted you dead, you would not be here, talking with me right now." Ra's stood from the upholstered chair and took a half step into Kaden's space. He flinched visibly as Ra's took his chis into his hand to examine his face properly.

"You have your mother's eyes. Sadly, you have your father's nose. He always did have an inelegant nose," he mused. Kaden shut his eyes tight and ripped his head out of his grip. He huffed in annoyance and put on a brave face, glaring up at his captor. _Inelegant nose. My dad's nose is just fine, you fucking prick._

"If all you wanted to do was meet me, an e-mail or a fucking _phone call_ would have worked. FYI, sending _assassins_ after someone and trying to fucking _kill them_ is not the best way to make a good first impression," Kaden snapped angrily staring at his "grandfather" defiantly.

Ra's eyed the boy, curiosity piqued; he remembered that look in his eyes, that fire in the face of fear and certain death. Both his daughter and Jason had the same defiance in the face of death. The boy was scared - he could see his fear - but he was also brave; few had the audacity to speak to him in such a way. _He has potential._ He reached out and gently grasped Kaden's chin again and forced the boy to look at him, the teen flinching at the contact.

"You were tested and you passed. For one with your...upbringing, your skills were quite impressive ," Ra's said softly, smoothing Kaden's thick black hair down, grimacing at the slight coarseness. "That is the way of the League. You will learn, in time." He knelt and reached toward the teen's shackles - made sure Kaden was watching - and carefully put in the combination which revealed a hidden lock. Kaden's green eyes looked on curiously as Ra's took out what looked like a slim jim for cars, but much older and heard the spring unlock; he grimaced as the heavy shackles were taken off, suddenly feeling lighter, and he rubbed each ankle one at a time to alleviate pain.

"There are assassins at the top of the stairs and in front of your door. Any attempts to flee will be futile," Ra's said, as if reading his mind.

"Why are you freeing me?" Kaden asked suspiciously. Ra's stared down at the teen and shook his head.

"I am not; but there's no need for you to be any more uncomfortable than is necessary either," Ra's replied, the door opening with no cue whatsoever and two assassins took the sumptuous chair and end table as he swept out of the room leaving before Kaden could formulate a response. He huffed in annoyance as he paced back and forth through the tiny room,tugging on his hair, trying to compose his thoughts. He started looking around the room for anything he could use to escape, any openings he could exploit: cracks, windows, _anything_. Aside from the sparse furniture that was bolted _(bolted!)_ to the floor, there was nothing he could use.

Scared, angry and frustrated, Kaden stalked across the room to a small corner and sat himself down, hugging his knees to his chest and burying his face in his arms. He hadn't been here for long, but he could feel his claustrophobia clawing at the back of his mind; this small room, he could handle, but any smaller...

"Think positive, Kaden," he murmured to himself, but nothing came to mind besides how depressingly hopeless his situation seemed. Even if he could escape, how would he get past trained killers? Masters of stealth and deception with _years_ of training, compared to his year and a half. Okay, sure, he'd been doing gymnastics since he was seven, and learning self-defense since he was eight, but that paled in comparison to what these people were probably trained in! He had some training in escapology, but that wouldn't help him get passed trained assassins, and if Ra's Al Ghul was their master, he could probably stop him with ease, all by himself if he so chose.

"Dammit," Kaden muttered to himself, getting to his feet and moving toward the bed. He flopped onto the bed and buried his face in the pillow, letting his mind dip into childhood memories. It was a trick that Damian had taught him; to let his mind go back to happy memories if he were captured or being tortured. It made things more bearable. Kaden turned in the bed onto his back, staring at the ceiling and taking a few deep breaths. _Think positive. Dad and Papa will find me; they'll come and save me._

That thought didn't have the effect he was hoping it would. He thought it would make him feel better; instead, it made him feel irritated and frustrated. _Tch, helpless little Kaden, can't even fucking take care of himself. Needs everyone else to fucking save him again._ He sat up on the bed again, fists clenched, frustrated once more by his situation. He wanted to prove himself to his family, show them that he could be a vigilante, be as good as the rest of them, and he had to go and get himself fucking kidnapped! Again! And what was worse is, he couldn't even save himself! All he was capable of was sitting on his fucking ass and waiting for someone else to come and save him! _You fucking moron._

Kaden groaned, tugged on his hair again and fell back on the bed, and stared at the ceiling. _How did_ _I ever think I could be Robin? Or a_ hero _at all for that matter?_ Kaden rolled over on his side and closed his eyes. _How did_ _I think I could be like Dad? Like Papa? Like Damian? I can't even take care of myself._ Kaden sighed sadly and let himself fall into a fitful sleep. What else could he do?

_._._._._

 _Kaden raced through the streets of Gotham, ignoring the glances he got from the people he passed,_ _using the shadows as cover as often as possible. He threw an occasional glance behind him to see the assassins were still hot on his heels, following via the roof tops. His feet were sore from running barefoot across concrete, and his injured arm made it too difficult to do any climbing, but he pushed through the pain and discomfort_ _\- escape_ _the only thing on his mind._

 _He_ _looked around frantically for a way to escape but saw none. He neared another alleyway; when he turned, it_ _was blocked by a chainlink fence. Cursing under his breath,_ _he paced for a few moments_ _as_ _he tried to think. There was a small opening at the bottom of the fence; without a second_ _thought, he got down on his hands and knees and crawled through it. Two of the assassins dropped behind him and one scaled the fence to pursue him. Kaden's heart pounded in his chest and his lungs burned from the exhaustion, but he continued to push_ _and raced around a corner. He didn't have time to think but he knew he had to lose the assassins; he saw the entrance to the old abandoned subway station and quickly formulated a plan._

 _The assassins momentarily lost track of the him_ _and climbed to the roof tops to get a better view. One spotted him moving toward_ _the subway station and pointed him out._

 _"There he is!" one of them, a woman, shouted. The assassins continued their pursuit, chasing after Kaden across the roof tops. Kaden ran into the subway station and watched as the assassins exchanged glances, confused. He had lost them in a tunnel full of bums beggars, drug addicts and homeless people. He watched the three use hand gestures to coordinate then split up to look for the teen from underneath the hood of a ragged old_ _red_ _hoodie. He somehow had found a five dollar bill in his pocket which he used to buy the hoodie off of one of the homeless people and hid himself in a corner beside a few of the other homeless folk._

 _Once the assassins were out of sight, Kaden slipped out of the subway, pulling the hoodie tighter around his body, leaving the hood up. He_ _rushed up the stairs and looked frantically for a phone booth. He found one across_ _the street. He let out a quiet cheer to himself before running_ _across the street and picking up the receiver. His hands were trembling so badly that it took three times to dial his dad's phone number correctly. When the phone started rining, he looked around nervously for the assassins, fidgeting._

 _"C'mon Dad, c'mon! Pick up!_ _Pick up pick up pick up!" Kaden pleaded quietly, panic rising._

 _"Hello?" his father's voice picked up from the other end. Kaden burst into tears_ _and started crying._

 _"Dad, Dad,_ _it's me!_ _Kaden!_ _Please,_ _please you have to_ _help me!" Kaden cried._

 _"Kaden! Oh God, Kades, calm down! Calm me where you are." Jason nearly shouted into the phone._

 _"Dad, I'm so scared! They're following me. I'm so, so scared. You've got to help me."_

 _"I know you're scared, baby bird, but you've gotta calm down. You've gotta tell me where you are," Jason pleaded with him._

 _I don't know...I," he looked around as he took a deep, shaking breath, "I'm at the corner of...mmmphf." He dropped the phone as someone grabbed him from behind and put a cloth over his mouth and nose. NO! NO! NO! NOT AGAIN! I DON'T WAN..._

 _"Kaden? Kaden? KADEN!"_

Kaden bolted awake, panting as he woke from the nightmare. He looked around the room, raking his hands through his hair, confirming he was still in that shitty little room, God knows where. He groaned and scrubbed his face with his hands, curling up into the fetal position on his bed and burying his face in his arms. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He silently came to a decision; these people would _not_ break him. Whatever it was these people wanted from him, he was determined not to give it.

_._._._._

Ra's stared pensively out the window of his study, a glass of wine in hand and some servants patiently awaiting for orders. He had yet to see first hand what the boy was capable of, only having witnessed his skills in combat through cameras, but he would see in due time. He was hardly surprised to see that the boy _had_ potential; he _was_ an Al Ghul after all. He would make a fine assassin, a fine addition to the Al Ghul legacy, a fine heir...after he _fixed_ a few things.

While hidden in plain sight, in a place that neither Bruce or his _protégé_ s would think to look, he would have plenty of time to play his subtle game of manipulation. Deciding on a course with which to proceed was a problem, of course; he needed to know what the boy was like in order to determine the best way to 'nudge' him toward the conclusions that Ra's desired. At his young age, he was very impressionable. It would only take time to get the boy to accept the League of Assassins and Ra's was a very patient man. He'd been walking the earth for nearly six hundred years, and he'd played the subtle mind games more times than he could recall. It was all about subtlety; carefully guiding and nudging one's mind toward an inevitable conclusion of your choosing. Twisting their beliefs, making them question the very moral ground on which they were raised, and then showing them _your_ way, showing them how it was _better._

Ra's sipped his wine then slowly turned to his servants, placing the glass upon his desk. He turned his attention onto his servants then.

"Keep the boy comfortable, but do not pamper him. Not yet. Let no one down to see him, save for myself," Ra's instructed. He rounded his desk, his hands clasped behind his back as he stood before his servants. "He is to have contact with others only when he is to be fed; his bandages are to be changed then at that time. The first step is to isolate him for a time. We must be patient, but also show some measure of kindness." The servants bowed in response, waiting to be dismissed.

"Make my instructions known to all. Dismissed," Ra's said, waving his servants off. The man turned back to the window, rounding his desk once more. A smug grin spread across his face as he saw the bat signal in the sky above Gotham City.

Ra's turned his attention to a monitor nearby, moving toward it for a better look. Talia sat alone in a cold stone cell;despite being isolated from the world, from her contacts, Ra's knew she was likely plotting something more. He began to reflect on the last few hundred years; perhaps he had afforded Talia too much freedom. That was a mistake he would not make with Kaden; he would have his freedom, but he would be put on a tighter leash than his daughter.

Speaking of whom, she would pay dearly for her crimes. He had given her _everything_ she ever desired and this was how she chose to repay him? No, a tiny cell in a dungeon, cut off from the rest of the world was far too good for her. He would make her watch as everything she'd built, or taken from him, was burned to ashes. He would make her watch as the son she worked and fought so hard to protect was twisted and turned into the very thing she tried to keep him from becoming. He would make her watch as Kaden took his first life, make her watch as he took his place by his side, become his heir. She would watch her entire world burn, and then he would permit her to live if only to suffer in her own madness, destroyed, broken, forgotten. She would bathe in the Lazarus Pit, by choice or not, prolonging her suffering; death was too good for her. She would suffer for eternity or until he grew bored of her. _Whichever came first._ Death was too quick. To live for centuries to contemplate your failures, your regrets, to wallow in your own misery and madness...that was punishment. It was demeaning. It was..

"Amusing."


	12. Dueling Identities

The Arkham Knight stood atop Von Gruenwald Tower, looking out over the city below. The sun was setting over the horizon, cloaking the city in shadow and painting the skyline in dark oranges and golds, the harbinger of nightfall. Jason had his helmet tucked under one arm and his black cell phone held to his ear in the other hand. Kaden had been missing for five days now, and his calls with his underworld contacts hadn't amounted to much. The League of Assassins had been sighted in both Gotham and Bludhaven, meddling in both cities' crime underworlds. In Gotham, it began to unravel Tim and Bruce's work with Wayne Enterprises to employ the gangs to keep crime down. The gangs were getting scared and defensive with the assassins running around and stirring up trouble, causing crime to slowly climb back up. The League seemed to be pitting gangs against each other. Given a week, maybe two, gang wars would start erupting again. It was obviously meant as a distraction, to keep them busy and off Ra's trail, but they had little choice but to intervene.

"I don't fucking care Freddy! Get it done _! Now_ ," Jason growled into the black phone before slamming it shut. Jason jammed the phone into one of the pouches on his utility belt and sighed deeply, raking a hand through his dark hair. Everyone had been searching for Kaden and the League's location, but with assassins crawling all over the city - many willing to die before revealing the location - it proved almost impossible to pin down a location for their base of operations. If any of his family learned he was back in touch with his old underworld contacts - _especially_ Dick - shit would hit the fan. They didn't understand; Jason was willing to do _whatever_ it took to save his son. This was the _League of Assassins_ , not some two-bit D-Grade kidnappers. Kaden was in _real_ danger. Part of him also believed it was their fault. They all kept information from Kaden that he had a right to know. Jason didn't know if it would have made a difference, but he felt guilty about not telling him earlier about Ra's.

._._._.

Kaden looked up defiantly when he heard the door open. Jade eyes glared menacingly through thick lashes as his grandfather walked in, cold as the Antarctic as ever. He felt like crawling out of his skin, screaming at the top of his lungs, or even pulling his own hair out as the walls seemed to close in on him day-by-day, but damned if he showed any of that to his grandfather. Today, Ra's brought three minions - as his come to call them - instead of two. One placed a stool on the floor next to Ra's, the one that seemed to shadow Ra's shadow guarded the stool and the other had what looked like a hairdresser's apron on.

"Am I watching you get your horns trimmed today, Ra's?" Kaden spit out. The small space had eaten away his more more forgiving attitude on day three. Ra's chuckled.

"Ah, you are in a very humorous mood today, Kaden. No, I am not getting a haircut today; _you are_."

Kaden tried as well as he could to cross his arms and growled, "No."

"Kaden," Ra's pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, "You are making this most difficult. Upstairs, there is a set of rooms just for you. However, they are clean. _You are not_. Would you like to be there or _down here_?" Ra's emphasized the last words by pointing his fingers down. Kaden huffed, uncrossed his legs and stood up. He waited for the minion to set the stool down and sat in it.

"Fine. I'll fucking sit, but don't give me something ugly," he warned as the hairdresser came near him and set up shop.

._._._.

 _Jason, Dick and Bruce were gathered in the cave, having put an eight-year-old Kaden to bed in his room in the Manor. Ra's had been in Gotham and they had managed to drive him out, but a question had arisen that none of them had dared to consider until this very moment: do they tell Kaden about his grandfather?_

 _"He has a right to know," Dick argued, pointing toward the stairs. "I mean, I'd rather he didn't, but the knowledge could help him later! What if he runs into Ra's and has no idea who he is?! Not knowing could put him in just as much danger." Dick didn't like the idea of Kaden knowing who Ra's was any more than Jason did; he'd rather protect him from the knowledge. However, if Ra's ever came back to Gotham, if he ever discovered Kaden..._

" _Dick, we need to keep this from him. It's better if he doesn't know anything," Jason argued, still shocked by the fact that he was actually agreeing with Bruce - and against Dick - on something. Bruce patted Dick's shoulder gently and sighed._

 _"Dick, you know Kaden. He's inquisitive. If we tell him about Ra's, what's to stop him from getting curious later on in life and go searching for answers? If he goes knocking on those doors, he'll find more than answers. He'll find Ra's, and he'll find trouble." Jason watched as Dick paced, the idea of keeping yet_ another _secret from Kaden obviously not sitting well with him. Jason moved toward his husband and hugged him._

 _"Dick, it's for the best. We can keep Kaden safe and away from Ra's, but if he knows and he's curious enough, we_ both _know he's going to find what he's looking for," Jason explained. He pressed a kiss to Dick's lips and made him look at him. "It's better that he has no knowledge, than knowing and being curious."_

 _Dick heaved a sigh and hugged Jason._

 _"Yeah...yeah, I know, it's just...all these secrets..."_

._._._.

Kaden tugged on the Mandarin collar as he, Ra's, and the three minions walked down the white marble hallway. He was in the middle of a minion and Ra's sandwich - minions on all three sides and Ra's in front - so there was no escaping Lian Yu: Gotham Style anytime this century.

"Is the collar too much for you, Kaden?"

"It's hot, itchy and fucking suffocating. And why is it _green_?"

"Because you are green. I will have them bring you a more pleasing shirt," Ra's gestured ahead to what seemed like Minion 3,458 to Kaden and stopped in front of grand white double doors. Kaden momentarily stopped itching his neck as Ra's opened the doors to a bedroom twice the size of the one at the Manor. His mouth dropped at the sheer size; who cares if it was done up in white with gold accents and frills and bows _everywhere_? He. Had. Space. To. Move. WOO HOO!

He politely walked into the room, spun around, then lept into the bed, happy to have a bed bigger than a matchbox. Ra's allowed the servant to put Kaden's new shirts on the dresser, then he closed the door and locked it, allowing his grandson to acclimate to his new gilded cage.

._._._.

They kept so many secrets from Kaden that sometimes Jason wondered if maybe things would've played out differently if they'd just been _honest_ with him from the very start. Could they have prevented this? Could he and Dick have protected Kaden better if they'd just told him, well, _everything?_ Jason shook his head and abandoned that train of thought; dwelling on what ifs wasn't going to help Kaden. He went to pull his helmet on, but before he could go anywhere Nightwing landed neatly a few feet to the right of him. Jason glanced over at his husband and tucked the Arkham helmet once again in the crook of his right arm and waited for the man to speak. Dick walked over toward him, hips swaying gently, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You okay Jaybird?" Dick asked softly -trying and failing - to hide the concern scribed across his face. "You've been alone all day. I was-"

"Worried? Yeah, well...I'm not okay. I could lie, but, y'know," Jason joked with a slight smirk, shrugging his shoulders. A smile spread across Dick's face at the lightheartedness in Jason's tone and the smirk on his lips. He knew Jason was still worried sick for Kaden and that he was just masking it, but seeing the man smile was reassuring. Granted, it was a broken, sad smile, but still a smile. Dick rubbed his shoulder soothingly, before moving his hand across his back.

"I know. We'll find him Jaybird. He's just a kid, I know, but he's _your_ kid, Jason. He's every bit as stubborn and headstrong as you are," Dick teased. Jason chuckled in amusement and nudged the man's side with his elbow.

"He's _ours_ , Dickie-bird. He's also a lot like you, and that kind of scares me. Ra's will take advantage of that to hurt him, and-" Jason started to ramble, but Dick interrupted him, pressing his lips against Jason's while cupping his jaw with both hands, holding him in place while he deepened the kiss. Jason made a small contented moan as he gave into the kiss and wrapped an arm around Dick's waist, kissing back, lips melting against his husband's. Despite the severity of the situation, kissing Dick was always so...relaxing, so soothing. He could feel himself relaxing as he gave into the kiss, holding his husband flush against his body. Eventually, Dick slowly pulled away even as Jason followed him.

"I know you're worried about Kaden," Dick began, stroking the man's cheek with his gloved thumb, "but worrying yourself sick won't help him. Promise me you'll take it easy. Don't push yourself too hard." Jason sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as he locked eyes with Dick.

"I'll be fine, don't worry. Shouldn't you be in Bludhaven?" Jason asked. Dick pulled away from the man and moved toward the edge of the building, glancing back at Jason.

"Just wanted to-"

"Check up on me? You don't need to worry all the time about me. I've got Roy to keep my ass in line," Jason joked, earning a laugh from Dick. The acrobat dived off of the edge of the building and disappeared into the night. Jason watched him for a few moments until he was no longer in sight and then walked to edge of the building and grabbed his grappling hook. For the moment, all he could do was keep up the search, but the underworld seemed to be rattled by the idea the Red Hood was back. Nobody had actually seen him, but that seemed to have a powerful effect nonetheless and that was all Jason needed. His old lieutenant, Black Jack, kept his new identity as the Arkham Knight a secret and used the Red Hood as a means of advancing himself further, but it worked out well for Jason too. All he had to do was make a call and his contacts would bend to his whim, fearful of getting a visit from their old boss; at the same time, Jason could keep his head above the water, so to speak. So really, Dick shouldn't be angry at all because he wasn't technically going back there.

"Don't lie to yourself, Jay. You're still betraying his trust," he muttered to himself, staring solemnly over the city below. He pulled his helmet back on, snapping it in place, and dived off of the building, swinging through the air and into the night. The phone went off again as he touched down on a building across the way. Coming to a stop, he ducked down into an alleyway below, hiding in the shadows as he pulled off his helmet again and dug through his utility belt for the phone.

"What is it?" He snapped angrily, transitioning easily back into the Red Hood.

"Boss, we got a lead for ya about them assassins," came a man's voice from the other end. Jason's heart started hammering in his chest; after all this time, he finally had a lead! He didn't care how small it was, they hadn't had any intel from their investigation up to this point, so he'd take anything he could get! However, he had to keep calm and remind himself that he was supposed to be the Red Hood - dark, angry and one punch away from killing you Red Hood. He cleared his throat and dipped back into the persona.

"Good. Report," he barked. He could practically hear the man flinch on the other end of the phone, and that brought back some memories...and a grin to his face. As the Red Hood, he commanded both the respect, and the _fear_ of the underworld. The gangs would bend to his will at the mere sight of him, fearful of angering him and incurring his wrath. The mere sight of his symbol was enough to evoke a sense of dread in even the most influential and powerful of crime lords. He couldn't lie to himself; he reveled in holding that kind of power in Gotham's underworld. At the same time, he knew what being the Red Hood meant - what it did to him - and that it hadn't done anything to help him.

Jason shook his head, shaking himself from his thoughts as the man on the other end kept calling him.

"Boss? Hello?"

"Still here, just distracted. What is it?" Jason snapped.

"N-nothing sir. B-but the, uh, lead-"

"Yes? Out with it!" he snapped again. He heard a yelp from the other end and pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. That was the downside to the fear part of being the Red Hood; everyone was a whimpering, whiny bitch.

"You need to see it for yourself. Er, sir. I'm texting you the address."

"Fine. Bye," Jason replied, hanging up the phone. The address blinked across the screen moments later and Jason glared at it before jamming the phone back into his utility belt. He considered for a moment what this would mean; exposing the Arkham Knight as the Red Hood. That could complicate things and he'd likely have to personally rebuild his information network all over again; he'd have to prove to Gotham's trash personally that he _was_ the Red Hood, and that was time he didn't have. On the other hand, this was the only lead they've had since the League showed up. If it panned out, he could finally pick up a trail and find his son. Jason nodded to himself, quickly weighing his options before donning the helmet again. It was a calculated risk, but it was worth it. Jason typed a few commands into his gauntlet, and a few moments later his motorcycle stopped at the end of the alley. He jumped on it and raced off to follow up another lead; hopefully one that would ultimately lead him to his son.

._._._.

"What the fuck did he do to my fucking hair?!" Kaden lamented as he stared in the mirror. He had found a mirror some three minutes after Ra's had left and stopped dead at what he saw. He and his papa had decided some months ago to get matching haircuts so they had looked for hair cuts that would look good on the both of them; they had decided on fashionable undercuts, but they would keep some length on the sides so it wouldn't look too funny on Dick's chiseled jawline. That was gone. In its place was a very short, very unflattering _crew cut_. How would his parents recognize him? For fuck's sake, how would _anyone_ recognize him when he found a way out of this prison?

"Fucking asshole hairstylist. I want my money back," he muttered as he pulled on his hair, willing it to grow faster, if by faster you meant the rate of slug hightailing it from a bird. He turned away from the mirror and went to the dresser to look at the new shirts that were left for him. He frowned; he held in his hands a green shirt with a deep thin vee that was tied together with ties made of linen. It was better than a tight Mandarin collar. He quickly changed shirts, crossed the space to sit on the bed and began to think of a way out. There had to be a damned way out of this place.

._._._.

Jason arrived at the address which led to an old abandoned warehouse and hopped off of his motorcycle. Something didn't seem right; there were no cars, no sign of other people, and the place was dead silent. He became immediately suspicious and drew his Kimber 1911s as he made his way up into the warehouse. He looked around once more and holstered them, grabbing his grappling gun and firing a line up to the roof. He landed as quietly then sneaked inside through one of the rooftop windows, landing quietly on the catwalks below and turned on the night vision in his helmet. He looked around the warehouse below, but saw nothing. Jason dropped down to the room below, landing with a loud thud and drew his guns. The place was dark and old, rusty metal shelves stood several feet high, nearly reaching the roof, all crammed with old crates and boxes of god-knows-what. He walked quietly down the aisles of shelves. He could feel someone _watching_ him; he wasn't alone and he knew it. When he came to the end of the warehouse, he opened a panel by the large metal doors and flicked on the lights, switching off his night vision.

He moved through the warehouse again, this time to the other end. There was a small room in the back with broken glass windows, the door cracked slightly. With his guns drawn, he slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside the room, one foot in front of the other.

"Fuck!" he shouted when he saw what was inside; a body lay on the floor, with his throat slit and a cellphone in hand. It was a trap! _It was a fucking trap!_ Jason turned and rushed out of the office, making for the exit posthaste as assassins came crashing through the windows and roof, at least a dozen of them. He quickly surmised he was surrounded. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck _fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck_.

"You are a nuisance that can no longer be tolerated! You stick your nose where it doesn't belong. Now, we have to end you," one of the assassins, a woman, called. Jason snorted and waved his hand dismissively.

"Bring it on, cupcake. I've kicked your master's ass; I can kick your ass," Jason retorted.

"We will see," she replied, drawing a bow. Several other assassins followed suit and shot a volley of arrows at Jason, while the rest came at him with daggers and swords. Jason dived behind some crates and used them for cover as he raced toward the aisles of shelves. Two assassins dropped from above, bringing their swords down upon his head; Jason flipped backwards and avoided their attacks, then showered them in gunfire as soon as they landed. He nailed one on the forehead and the other in the ankle, but the assassin pushed forward, swords swinging. Jason ducked backward to avoid the attack, then grabbed him by the arm and brought his elbow down, snapping the man's arm. The man howled in pain and then went silent as Jason elbowed him in the face. Two assassins came at him from either end of the aisles; he threw the unconscious assassin at one of them and ducked underneath the other as he moved to strike. He thrust all his weight upward into an elbow jab and sent the man flying backward into one of the shelves.

As assassins began to choke the aisle and the ones surrounding him, he grabbed his grappling gun and fired it up ito the catwalks. He rode the line halfway up then loosed the line, dropping onto top of a shelf; it wobbled a bit which gave him an idea, and he grinned like the devil. He looked over to see assassins climbing up toward him from either side; he intentionally started shaking the shelf. Two of the assassins fell before the entire shelf started to fall. The assassins shouted and Jason jumped to a neighboring shelf on the opposite side. It created a domino effect and crushed several of the assassins to death, leaving only three to eliminate. Two fired arrows at him. One arrow glinted harmlessly off his chest armor, and he he jumped to avoid the second one; as he jumped, he aimed and discharged four bullets from his Kimbers into his enemies. One was struck in the leg, twice, a third shot dug into the shoulder of the second assassin, but the third assassin avoided the remaining two shots. The assassin with the wounded leg landed hard on the ground and tried to avoid Jason, but the vigilante used him as a landing pad, crushing his sternum and ribs, rendering him unconscious. The uninjured one drew a sword while the injured one drew a dagger.

Jason ducked the sword swing from first, then flipped forward to avoid the other's attack. He blocked the sword strike with his gauntlet, and the other assassin struck at him from behind. He pushed the assassin in front of him and sent him tumbling backward. As the second assassin closed for a melee strike, Jason spun in place, slapping the blade aside with his gauntlet. The blade struck metal and shattered into pieces, and Jason countered with a crushing blow directly to the assassin's chest; it was a killing blow, sending him crashing backwards into a pile of crates. He turned just in time to face the last of the assassins, but was just a second too slow to react; the man's sword pierced the Kevlar on his leg and drew blood. Jason cursed loudly and as the man came in for a follow up attack, he dropped to the ground, turning the man's momentum against him. Pushing himself up and backwards with his hands, he flipped backwards and delivered a double kick to the man's jaw, sending him crashing into the wall. Jason landed on his feet and raced toward the man, pinning him to the ground with a boot on his chest. He pointed the smooth barrel of the 1911 at the man's head.

"Tell me where Ra's is hiding! Now!" Jason shouted angrily. The assassin chuckled in amusement and drew a knife from his belt, cursing at Jason in Arabic before slicing his own throat. Jason cursed loudly and kicked the corpse, then stormed across the warehouse. His jaw worked and his blood ran hot with rage; Jason shouted angrily and ripped off his helmet, throwing it across the warehouse, pulling his hair with his gloved hands. _Fuck these assassins. Fuck that informant. Fuck this mission! Fuck Ra's Al Ghul!_

._._._.

Ra's watched his grandson meditate on the bed on the laptop sitting on his desk and smiled, sipping his wine. Yes, yes, purchasing this house from Timothy Drake was quite a good purchase indeed. He had all of the room he needed to bring the assassins closest to him, mentors for Kaden, and well, plenty of rooms to bestow - or take away - from Kaden.

Of course, purchasing it had been a hassle. He had to take a member who had been quite troublesome - troublesome but wealthy and one not well-connected to the League - and use his name and credentials to purchase the house. He then threw him in a small prison cell to rot in Nanda Parbat after the papers were signed and the house was officially his.

Speaking of which, he changed channels on his laptop to check on his prisoners in Nanda Parbat. He smiled wickedly as he watched his wealthy, troublesome member take his last few breaths. He'd simply get rid of the body by disposing it in acid. No body? No crime. He then checked on his daughter and the wine glass shattered in his hand, red wine and blood staining his hands, chair, and marble floor.

Talia's room was empty.


	13. A Question Of Morality

"Master Jason! Master -"

Jason ignored Alfred as he stormed up the Cave stairs passed the first floor to the second and slammed the secret entrance, storming to the bedroom he shared with Dick. He slammed the door, tore off his silver-grey helmet, pitching it across the room, screaming in frustration and anger. He dug his fingers into his hair and pulled, stomping one foot into the ground repeatedly and threw himself on the bed, screaming into the sheets.

The last time he had felt _this_ angry, he was Red Hood. Back then, he would have taken his custom Jericho 941s and put a bullet in the drug lord that had been pissing him off. As much as he wanted to put a bullet in someone's fucking head right now, he couldn't. He made that promise to his husband, his partner and Kaden. Oh, but it was tempting to kill the drug lord that led him into a trap. It _really_ , really was. _Asshole_.

Jason lifted his head, then pulled himself off the bed. He stalked across the room to the dresser and yanked the top drawer open, fumbling through it for his pills; he was so pent up that his hands were shaking. Managing to get the cap off, he palmed a pill and swallowed it dry before tossing the bottle back into the drawer. He sunk himself onto the bed again and dug his hands into his hair. He deliberately pressed the slightly sharp edges of his fingers into his scalp and stared down at the floor, taking deep breaths. He closed his eyes and after a few minutes of deep breathing, he could feel himself slowly calming down. He pulled the black cell phone out of one of the pouches on his utility belt and stared at it for several long moments before stuffing it back inside. He pushed himself off the bed and slowly stripped himself out of his gear, changing back into regular clothes. He glanced over to where he threw his helmet and grimaced; Alfred was going to give him that "look" for putting a hole in the "stately" wall. He picked it up from the ground, brushed the plaster off the helmet and set it next on the bed, his armor on the floor.

He made for the bedroom door, dressed in a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt, glancing back over his shoulder at the state of the room. The entire room was tidy, save for his armor at the foot of the bed. He frowned at the mess before shutting the door behind him. Normally, his armor being tangled up would annoy him, but today, that was the least of his worries.

"Master Jason, are you well?" Alfred asked, concern etched on his time-worn features. Jason let go of the handle heavily and stared down at the floor for several long moments. Alfred waited patiently, something for which Jason was always grateful. He sighed, raking a hand through his hair and looking up at Alfred with a sad smile.

"No. No, Alf, I'm not well. I'm not even great. The only good lead I had to my son was a trap," he said softly, before continuing down the hall.

._._._.

Talia turned and looked out of the tiny window in Delhi, India. She had put herself up in a small hotel next to the slums; unlike her father, she didn't mind staying in or near the slums...it meant her father would be less likely to find her. He was used to the finer things in life and the slums were, well, they were only traversed by his assassins, not _him_.

Lady Shiva had just days before broken through Nanda Parbat using some of the assassins still loyal to her from the inside and rescued her. The group was small, but they were all with her in Delhi. She had told the rest of her assassins to keep their posts once she had landed in India.

Lady Shiva had attended to her wounds carefully, stitching the deepest marks left by the bull whips Ra's Al Ghul had his assassin use. She heals more quickly than other humans thanks to the Lazarus Pit, but not _that_ fast.

She brought a cup of Darjeeling tea to her mouth, dressed in a cheap but still vibrant salwar-kameez, and took a sip. "Just wait, Father. Just. You. _Wait_."

._._._.

Kaden crossed his legs on the bed he slept on, picking up the book he wanted to read, but then set it aside; he had been Ra's' little plaything for ten days now and he still didn't know what Ra's wanted from him. He'd been put in a larger room than his own at the Manor - although the furnishings were rather _too_ girly - with a bookcase stocked with books of different academic genres. Why there wasn't any fiction was something he pondered about for many hours as he was very, very tired of reading biographies and philosophy. He was fed meals that, while nothing like Alfred's amazing food, weren't anything to protest about; it just wasn't what he _normally_ ate. Despite all of this, he found himself missing everyone: his family, his friends, Star, school, hell, he even missed _Damian_. He wanted to go _home_. There was no way he was going to be one of those pathetic assholes who admitted on some Friday night TV show that he looked forward to his captor's visits. Nu uh. He was finding a way out of this oversized Barbie Dream House. _Now_.

Of course, the more he thought about it, the more he started to think that perhaps that was the intention; cut off all social interaction and over time, he'd start to crave anything he could get. It was both a depressing and disturbing thought to say the least.

He heard footsteps outside his door and groaned; lovely, another visit from ye ol' Devil himself, Ra's Al Ghul. Man, if only he had ear plugs. Ra's could drone on and on and...wait, was that? Holy fuck, was that steak he was smelling? Kaden sat up a bit as Ra's entered the room and leaned trying to find the servant holding his dinner plates. His mouth started salivating when he saw he was right; his dinner was pre-cut steak, mashed potatoes with garlic and parsley, and broccoli. There was also a bowl of cut apples, and a glass of milk. Actual. Recognizable. Food.

The food was set on a small table in the sitting area in front of the bed. Kaden scooched to the foot of the bed, leaned over, put his fork on the plate and snatched the plate off the tray and sat back on the bed. He settled the plate in his lap and then hesitated. The Devil never gave him American food.

"Do not be ashamed of your hunger," Ra's said smoothly - face betraying no hint of frustration - as an assassin quickly set up a small table and another moved a chair from the sitting area face Kaden, "You must be starving for a decent meal. Go on, eat. You have my word it's not poisoned." The teen eyed him warily as the man grabbed his fork and ate a piece of broccoli to prove his point. Kaden watched, hesitating for a moment as he looked back to the food, then hesitantly lifted the fork and stabbed at a piece of steak. Once the tender meat hit his tongue, he let out an 'mmm' sound, almost feeling embarrassed about it. Ra's seemed amused, taking a seat in his chair. The assassins retreated from the room and a servant returned, placing a tea set - as well as a small silver bell- before his master. Ra's raised his hand and the servant bowed and left.

"Tell me something, child," Ra's began, sipping his tea, "why do you choose to be a vigilante? Why do you fight crime?" Kaden looked up at the man from his meal; the food was so delicious and so rare of a treat that he resembled a chipmunk. He considered the question while chewing on the meat in his mouth. He placed his fork down and sipped his milk slowly, then turned his attention back on Ra's. It seemed like an innocent enough question, but there had to be a reason why he asked it. He could stay silent and ignore it, but curiosity demanded he answer and find out more.

"I wanted to help people. I wanted to be a hero. Like my parents. Like Damian and Gramps," Kaden answered, watching the man's reaction carefully, seeing if he could glean a change in his emotion. Unfortunately, Ra's showed zip. So unsurprising; as far as Kaden was concerned, Ra's was like a walking statue. He often contemplated how much Botox Ra's must have had to have his face move that little.

"And do you believe you have made a difference?" Ra's asked next. He waited patiently with both hands in lap for Kaden's answer, remaining elusive as ever. Kaden mulled the question over in his head while he finished his meal, setting the tray aside when he was done. He watched Ra's again while he thought carefully about how to answer that question. Irked by his inability to read Darth Sidious, he pieced together his answer carefully in head.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think I've made a lot of difference. I'd say I've done a lot of good for Gotham," Kaden replied with confidence, adjusting himself on the bed so he sat straight and crossed his arms. Whether he was working with his aunt Babs as Ghost, or fighting crime by Damian's side as Robin, he was confident that he was doing right by Gotham, making it better. Robin took down criminals directly, working in tandem with Batman, the Arkham Knight, or Nightwing. He helped to take down criminals directly and put them where they belonged; in Arkham or prison. Ghost worked alongside Oracle to provide vital information to the other vigilantes. Like an actual ghost, he watched over them, tipping them off to opposition, hacking and sabotaging criminals and turning their advantages into weaknesses. Information was power, and he had it at his fingertips, providing every possible advantage.

Kaden's eyes narrowed as Ra's chuckled. He finally got a reaction, though he wasn't sure he liked it; he seemed _amused_.

"Interesting," Ra's said softly, lips curled into a slight smirk as he stared pensively into his tea. He swished the liquid around in his cup a bit before giving it a sip. He looked back up at Kaden over the rim of his cup, setting it down carefully onto its saucer.

"So tell me...if you've brought such a change to Gotham, why are the same criminals still terrorizing the city?" he asked, voice slow and deliberate. Kaden was taken aback by the question, unsure how to answer that. Ra's sensed the teen's hesitance and thus provided an answer of his own. "Allow me to provide some insight; it is your grandfather's 'no kill rule' that keeps Gotham from flourishing."

"That's. Not. True." Kaden spit out, glaring venomously at the man, puffing up, attempting to make himself look threatening. That fucking Devil remained unfettered by his advances.. Kaden wanted to claw Ra's damn face apart just to see if the expression would finally change, but he stayed where he was and took a breath. This man knew nothing of Gotham, knew nothing of his gramps, so who was he to decide what was right for Gotham? As far as he knew, Ra's was as old as the dinosaurs with a rifle shoved way up his ass (and clearly needed help getting that out), but his gramps was a _hero_.

"Killing is wrong! If we kill, we're villains just like they are! If we kill, how are we better than the criminals we fight? We're not; we're just as bad as they are. We're better; we have respect for the lives of others, good or bad!" Kaden puffed up his chest a bit, green eyes shining with pride. _Top that, asshole._

"Are we?" Ra's asked arching an elegant brow. "Are we really as bad as they are?" Kaden glared at him and attempted to protest, but Ra's interrupted him before he could get a word in. "So does that make your father a villain?" Kaden was shut down immediately, the wind knocked right out of his sails as he sank into the bed.

"My dad doesn't kill...not anymore," he said evenly. His dad used to be the Red Hood. His dad made a promise to him that he would never kill after he burned the Red Hood costume.

"Not anymore? I find that quite amusing. Oh, don't raise your eyebrow at me, I'll explain why I find it rather amusing. One of my underlings came to me with injuries to the leg, sternum and ribs. He was the only survivor. His injuries were quite complex and required extensive surgery. He was trying to connect with your father to tell him where you were, but instead your father shot him and his six other comrades. They were armed with just their knives and put them down when they approached."

"You're lying! That's _not_ my dad!" Kaden snapped angrily, regaining a measure of confidence as he sat upright again, shooting the man a challenging glare. He didn't believe it, not for a moment. His father swore to him, to Dick, to Roy and Lian and everyone else that the Red Hood was dead. He wouldn't go back on his word, not on something like that. But...given the circumstances...Alfred and Damian...he watched them kill...but they were assassins. And his dad... _No. No he wouldn't._

Ra's rang the bell on the delicate tea set and a servant quickly padded in.

"Bring the photos." The servant bowed deeply and silently walked out, returning moments later with a manila envelope. Kaden's eyebrows drew together seeing the envelope, equally filled with curiosity and dread. Out came what he knew what was photograph paper; the sheets were turned to face him and he took in a breath. One showed the six assassins putting their weapons -knives and kris - to the ground; the next was his father shooting them.

"My father is _not_ a monster. My father is _not you_." Kaden said venomously, staring back at the person who dared to try to smear his dad's reputation. He didn't know what kind of sick game this man was playing with him, but he was done playing it. He wasn't going to sit here and listen to this shit; he was pretty sure those photos were photoshopped anyway. Ra's smirked slightly and rose slowly from his seat. He moved toward Kaden, the teen flinching slightly as Ra's crowded him, the same green eyes boring into his.

"Your father is a killer. He was, is, and always will be a killer," Ra's said coldly, before retreating, pacing the room a bit, arms folded behind his back. "Where do you think he learned his combat techniques? There is only one place a man may turn his body into a weapon of death. The League of Assassins."

"Bullshit!" Kaden shouted angrily, swiping the pictures off his bed in anger. He glared at Ra's as that smug son of a bitch grinned at him. He wanted to throw something at that psycho and wipe that smug grin of his fucking face.

"Your father once trained with the League of Assassins. For a time, he was a League assassin," Ra's continued, shooting the teen a condescending glare, "Your father, however, has grown weak. _Pathetic_. An insult to our training. A man who shows mercy, is a man who has lost his edge, his resolve. Your father is little more than a blunted sword, and so he lashes out like a mere child," Ra's snapped, pointing at the photos Kaden had tossed to the floor. Ra's flashed an almost regretful look, which threw Kaden off balance.

"He showed such promise, such proficiency in areas many of my assassins fail: languages, assembling and disengaging bombs, marksmanship - hm, yes, he was much interested in marksmanship; so much I sent him to train with some of the best marksmans. He turned out to be one of my very best marksmen. Bruce never gave him the chance to reach his potential. He was even proficient in poisons. It had been so long since I'd seen one so talented in the art of killing. Mm, yes, probably since I was an assassin myself. Don't look so surprised. I didn't start a killer," Ra's said in a low tone, staring at Jason killing his assassins, a small smile tugging at his lips remembering Jason in his League days.

"Once upon a time, I was a man who could not raise a sword against another," Ra's began, moving slowly through the room, stopping at the shelves of books. "I had a wife that I loved dearly, and a daughter for whom I would have moved the earth." Ra's glanced over sadly at Kaden then. The sudden change from cold-hearted cynic to sorrowful and regretful perturbed Kaden a bit. "But in my own weakness, my wife was taken from me. She was snatched from me and my daughter, taken from us, from the world. My weakness cost me something I loved, _dearly_."

"What do you mean?" Kaden asked quietly, sliding to the ground to retrieve the "photos" so he could examine them when Ra's left

"There are men in the world with evil in their hearts beyond changing, Kaden" Ra's spoke softly now, slowly moving toward the teen. Kaden stood up, photos in hand, refusing to show any more weakness. Ra's stopped before him and rested a hand upon the boy's shoulder. "I watched them take my wife from me that day. And it was that day I found my strength and created the League of Assassins." Ra's stretched his arms out wide before clasping them behind his back once more.

"You see, child, sometimes putting evil men behind a set of bars is not enough to stop them. Take the Joker for example-" Kaden flinched at the name, a name that brought back memories best left forgotten. "Can you really say the world is worse for wear, now that he is dead?" With that, Ra's retreated from the room and left Kaden to his thoughts. A couple of servants retrieved the table and chair, and Kaden's tray. Kaden sat on his bed, Ra's words still ringing in his ears. He couldn't deny that Gotham was better now that the Joker was dead, but it disturbed him that he was agreeing with Ra's. He decided he would think about those thoughts later; first, he was going to examine these photos. He wouldn't rest until he knew whether these photos were real or shopped.

._._._.

"Anything Barbara?" Bruce asked, looking up at the Batcomputer's screen. Barbara occupied the top rightmost corner of the screen, clacking away at the keyboard in her clock tower. She sighed and shook her head.  
"No, I'm sorry."

* * *

 **Notes:** Hey, sorry guys, kind of forgot all about Fanfiction for a while. Also been kinda lazy. xD I've got a lot of catching up to do, so I better get started! If you enjoy "Growing UP" as well, keep an eye on that; got a shit ton of prompts to catch up on there too, lol.


	14. Breaking Point

"I had him Drake, but you had to go and blow my damn cover!" Damian shouted, ripping off his cowl, storming towards Tim. Tim spun around and glared at him venomously.

"How the _hell_ was I supposed to know?! It's not like you _tell_ anyone what the fucking hell you're doing!" Tim shouted back, digging his heels in and preparing for a fight. Damian took a threatening step forward and fisted the front of Tim's outfit, but Tim shoved him off prompting Damian to raise his fists.

"Woah! Woah! Guys, calm down! There's no need to be at each other's throats!" Dick shouted, jogging across the Cave to get between the two of them, garbed in his Nightwing gear. Damian snorted, shooting a look at Dick then nodding toward Tim.

"Tell that to Drake! For a supposed genius, he's pretty fucking dense!"

"And you have all the communication skills of a dodo, you-"

"Enough!" Bruce shouted from across the Cave, making his way toward his arguing sons. He stopped before the three of them with a weary frown etched on his face. "We are all angry and worried about Kaden, but lashing out at each other like this won't help him," Bruce said in an authoritative voice. Tim and Damian looked at him, then turned their eyes to the floor, knowing he was right. Dick smiled slightly as he patted both of their shoulders reassuringly.

"This is exactly what Ra's wants; all of us fighting with each other, too distracted by our own bickering to focus on him, the League and finding Kaden." Dick heaved a sigh and ghosted a hand through his hair. He couldn't lie to himself; this whole ordeal was draining on him, taxing his emotions greatly. With each passing day that Kaden remained missing, he grew more worried about Kaden. His dreams were either filled with horrors much alike those when Jason had been kidnapped - finding Kaden in some back alley dumpster, covered in blood, dead - ones of him holding Kaden in his arms again, reunited, safe with his husband and Star, in their apartment. Dreams and thoughts of the latter are what kept him going. He wanted to see Kaden's smile again, to know that he was safe...to know that he was _home_.

"Right. Sorry," Tim muttered, looking first to Dick, then Damian. Damian grumbled a bit but his pride prevented him from uttering an apology of any sort. His only peace offering was to hug Dick for a moment before walking toward the lockers. Dick flashed a small smile at the gesture, hugging him back briefly. He watched him leave then hugged Tim and carefully pushed him toward the lockers as well.

"Go. Change, then go upstairs and get some rest," Dick urged.

"But-"

"Please. Kaden wouldn't want you to work yourself to death," Dick interrupted. "You're his favorite uncle after all," Dick added with a small smile. Tim gave a curt nod and made his way over to the lockers at well, his shoulders slumped in defeat. Dick heaved another sigh, scrubbing his face with his hands.

"You alright?" Bruce asked softly, patting Dick's shoulder affectionately. Dick chuckled in amusement, a deflection from his own pain. He gave a nod, then slumped his shoulders and shook his head.

"I will be when we find Kaden. But thanks for asking," he replied with a small smile, putting a hand on one shoulder weakly before turning and walking to the lockers.

The acrobat changed into a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt before he padded across the cave and up the stairs. Concern filled him when he saw the shell of his husband pass him on the stairs. He hadn't seen Jason like this since...

"Jaybird, are you -"

Jason just held up a hand and shook his head. "Please...just...don't. Just don't...please." Jason said with a firm yet soft voice, continuing down the stairs. Dick felt his heart break at how broken his husband looked. He heaved a tired, weary sigh and continued up the stairs and out of the cave. He moved automatically to the room he and Jason shared. Upon opening the door, he stood in absolute shock. After years of living in the League, Jason absolutely despised messes. In fact, Jason often grumbled when Dick didn't make the bed and to military precision: no wrinkles, hospital corners, sheets so tightly fitted to the bed Dick ripped the sheets out from under the mattress before going to bed or he felt like he was suffocating. _Slowly_. He even once caught Jason safety pinning the sheets to the mattress so the sheets stayed tight and after that, Dick made sure he made the bed. If the room was in this state, something was clearly not right with his husband. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, closed the door behind him and he took it upon himself to clean the room up a bit before going to bed.

Dick started by picking up Jason's Knight gear. He grabbed a hamper and placed it on top of the bed to make it easier to take to the Cave. He carefully put each of Jason's damned heavy combat boots on one side of the hamper and left the rest for his gear. He shook out each part of his gear to get rid of the wrinkles before folding them. They'd have to be washed, but folding them allowed more room to put in armor. Armor was tougher; it couldn't be folded but it could be taken apart. He managed to fit in the gauntlets, knee caps, pauldrons, greaves...his helmet, breast and back armor would have to wait. He paused to wipe his brow. _How the hell does he jump in all of this goddamned armor?_ _It's so damn heavy!_ Lastly, he picked up Jason's utility belt to pack in, and a light _thunk_ on the floor caught Dick's attention. He looked at the utility belt and saw one of the pouches had fallen open. He looked around the room to see what it was, and his eyes fell upon a familiar object; an old black cell phone.

 _Oh, that_ better _not be what I think it is._ Dick put the belt in the hamper and approached the phone, picking it up. He flicked it open and sifted through the contents, confirming this was his Red Hood phone. What was worse, there were _recent_ messages and phone calls. He gritted his teeth and gripped the phone tightly. His husband _told_ him he'd gotten rid of _everything_ that day! Everything! Dick jammed the phone into his pocket, growling angrily to himself as he stormed out of the room, hamper completely forgotten.

._._._.

After spending hours last night examining the photos and ultimately finding they were shopped, Kaden had decided he'd overstayed his welcome. Making it past a horde of assassins wouldn't be an easy feat, but he had to try. He was tired of passively accepting his fate, tired of waiting for everyone else to come and rescue him. He was not a helpless little boy anymore; it was time to put up or shut up. He'd gone over the schedule Ra's servants and assassins had each day in his head and chose that morning to try and make his escape. He didn't really have a plan, since he hadn't been allowed outside his room, so he'd have to improvise once he escaped. He'd been trained by Damian, his dad, his papa, and Uncle Tim, though; he had a _chance_. The skills and knowledge they passed onto him gave him a chance to make this work so he had to try.

Kaden hid behind the door and waited patiently; it would only be a few minutes before a servant came through that door to bring him something to eat. Sure enough, the door swung open only moments later and in came a servant with a tray of food and drink in hand, completely oblivious to the ambush that awaited him. The servant became alert when he found no signs of the teenager. Kaden held his position, peeking past the door and waiting patiently for the man to walk further into the room. The man placed the tray down on the nightstand, his movements slow, cautious and deliberate. He glanced around the room for any signs of escape but found none. And then he moved toward the window...that was the moment Kaden chose to strike, delivering a powerful blow to the back of the man's head. The servant let out a gasp at the sudden blow and fell unconscious, crumbling to the foor. Kaden bolted to the door, locking it shut behind him; it would be only minutes before the assassins came to investigate so he wasn't going to waste any time.

Kaden hesitated for a moment, glancing around, trying to decide where to go. He picked the hallway before him and rushed toward the window at the other end of the hall. Luck wasn't on his side, it seemed, as an assassin rounded the corner and spotted him. Kaden froze for a second, like a deer caught in the headlights. The assassin drew his sword and Kaden turned on the spot and bolted back down the hallway. _Shit, shit, shit_.

"The prisoner is escaping!" the assassin shouted as he gave chase. Kaden rounded the corner, cursing quietly under his breath when an assassin rounded another corner in front of him. He gasped and slid underneath the man between his legs, punching him in the groin along the way. The man groaned and Kaden sprung back up onto his feet, shoving the man into the pursuing assassin. The assassin lept over his comrade and continued his pursuit unhindered. Kaden cursed out loud, then grabbed a vase and threw it at his pursuer. The assassin shattered it in mid air with his sword, prompting another loud curse from the teen. Kaden redoubled his efforts, focusing on the path ahead as he continued running, but things just kept getting worse. Several assassins rushed up the stairs in front of him to cut him off.

Thinking quickly, Kaden looked over the railing and then jumped. He tucked his body and rolled as he hit the floor, lessening the impact, then quickly sprung back up to his feet and booked it for the front door. Two assassins came in from the front door at the sound of all the commotion and drew their swords, attempting to cut off his escape. With assassins coming from the front, coming from the rear, and now his left and right, he didn't have time to think. He turned to the assassins coming from behind him and flipped over one's head, using the back of his head like a stepping stone, and jumped toward the chandelier above. He grabbed a hold of the chandelier, and as the assassins converged on his location, he applied all of his weight downward. With a grunt and a lot of effort, he managed to rip the chandelier from the roof, causing it to plummet down onto the assassins below. The assassins scattered, diving out of the way in different directions as the chandelier crashed against the floor, sending shadows of glass flying all over the place. As Kaden came down with it, he once again rolled to lessen the impact. Wasting no time, the teen got to his feet and bolted out the front door. _Freedom!_

Kaden grinned from ear to ear, letting out a cheer as he raced across the grass, free at last. But his celebration was cut short when he felt something heavy wrap around his ankles and trip him. _Fuck_. Kaden gasped as he fell, hitting the cold, wet ground hard. He grunted and pushed himself up into a sitting position. He tried desperately to free himself from what looked like a bolas. He'd come so far; he couldn't get caught now! Just as he managed to free himself, more than a dozen assassins surrounded him, swords at the ready. Kaden groaned, whining a little as they hauled him up off the ground and dragged him back to the house. Kaden fought to break free from their grip, but they were too strong and too many. They dragged him through the house and shoved Kaden through a door into what looked like an office. Kaden made for the door and pounded on it angrily when they shut it behind him.

"Dammit! Mother fucker! OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!" he shouted angrily, kicking the door savagely.

"Such strong language," he heard behind him. Kaden spun and saw Ra's sitting at a desk, turning slowly in his chair. The man had a grin on his face and a glass of red wine in hand and gestured to a seat across from him. Kaden frowned at him, blood boiling at his failed escape. He approached the man slowly, watching him warily as he slumped into the chair across from him.

"Your attempted escape was most impressive. Ingenuity, improvisation, skill. You are an impressive boy," Ra's said casually, sipping his wine. He glanced up at Kaden over the rim of his glass and added "I must admit, I've underestimated you."

"Yeah well, as much as I enjoyed my gilded cage-" Kaden began with a derisive tone, but Ra's interrupted him.

"Your skills were impressive, but I'm afraid you disrespected me-" Ra's said evenly. Kaden glared, a silent challenge, but Ra's did not rise to meet him. "Such disrespect must be punished. I gave you better quarters, books, better food, and you repaid my kindness with disrespect."

"Kindness?! You _kidnapped_ me! You're holding me prisoner!" Kaden snapped, jumping out of his chair. Ra's shot him a glare as he rose from his own seat, staring the teen down with a glare that sent ice through the teen's veins.

"Enough! Guards, take the boy to his previous quarters," Ra's called. Kaden growled as two assassins entered the room and dragged him out by his armpits. "You can earn your comforts back, child. As soon as you learn to show respect to your superiors," Ra's said haughtily.

Kaden growled angrily and struggled as the assassins dragged him through the house. They made for the basement and Kaden let out a curse, struggling even harder to no avail.

"Let me go, you shit-eating, monkey-brained knuckle draggers!" Kaden shouted angrily, earning a growl from one of the assassins who nearly stumbled trying to keep his hold on the teen. They dragged him downstairs and shoved him into the tiny room before retreating back upstairs and sealing the door behind them. Kaden stormed up after them, letting out an angry scream as he pounded on the door. He punched and kicked desperately at the door, screaming obscenities for the better part of five minutes before tears poured down his face. He slid down the bedroom door, throat hoarse, and cried. _I just want to go home..._

._._._.

"JASON _PETER TODD_!"

Jason snapped out of his reverie. He had been studying his first Red Hood costume, the one he put together after he finished training with Talia, in its display case. The scuffed black body armor with the red bat insignia weren't scuffed in his mind, but fresh as he remembered finishing each piece. The cracked red helmet new and he could smell the fresh paint job. Every League member made their own armor; they were as strong or as weak as the armor they built. His knowledge of Batman's armor gave him an edge in and out of the League; his armor was often state-of-the-art and competed with Batman's. He loved and had babied that armor.

He looked behind him and saw Dick marching towards him, holding him, face contorted in anger. _Oh shit._ _What did I do this time? I_ did _remember to put my lethal ammo where he couldn't see it, right? RIGHT?_

"Jason Peter _Fucking_ Todd..." Dick gritted out as he marched closer to him.

 _Oh shit, I'm in trouble_.

"You son of a...you bas...you... _why the hell do you have this_?" Dick growled as he held up the very same phone Jason tried to hide from him. _Oh. Oh shit. I am royally fucked._

"I -"

"I'm not done. You promised Kaden, Roy, Lian and me every piece of the Hood was gone. Every. Single. Piece. We buried him. Even this phone, but this phone still exists. What else exists?"

Jason's mouth opened and closed, looking like a fish out of water as he tried to find the words to explain. He was caught and he didn't know what to say; he knew he had been wrong, knew that Dick had every right to be pissed. So what could he say? He felt the guilt well up inside him; guilt about lying to his husband, to Kaden, to the whole family, and keeping this secret from them. He made a promise he'd never go back, and though he hadn't donned the costume, he _knew_ that playing the part was still pretty close. Dick waited for an answer, his fists clenching at his sides and his jaw working.

Jason slumped his shoulders. He leaned against the display case and sighed. "The network."

"The _entire_ network, Jason?" Dick pinched the bridge of his nose. "Jason, do you realize at all that the network is part of what makes Hood _Hood_? The underground is angry and you don't need that. You have us. You have -"

"I HAVE WHAT, _DICK_?! Nightmares? Anxiety attacks to the point I can't breath, Dick? Flashbacks where I think the Joker is around every _fucking corner_?" Jason took a deep breath, "You think I like this? You think I want this _for my son_? No! So, yes, I kept the damn phone just in case. Kaden had been kidnapped two fucking times before! Why is it always _our_ _kid_?!" His voice cracked on the last two words, tears pouring down his face, sliding down to the ground.

"I don't know, Jay," Dick said softly, thumb caressing the man's cheek as he brushed a tear away. "But, I _promise_ you, we _will_ find him. And when we do, he'll need _both of us_ , intact, to help him through the trauma." Dick led Jason away from the display case and toward a work bench nearby. He glared at the display case, making a mental note to "talk" to Bruce about that. He sat the man down and sat beside him, hugging him tight. Jason buried his face in Dick's chest and inhaled a shaky breath, calming himself down.

"Jason, you're an _amazing_ father and I admire that you're willing to do whatever you have to to save Kaden, but-" Dick said softly, gently grabbing Jason's shoulders and pushing him up to look into his eyes "-you don't need the Red Hood to do that. Okay?" He flashed the man a reassuring smile and patted his back and shoulders affectionately. He could feel the tension in Jason's body ease slightly. Jason heaved a shaky sigh and nodded his head.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah okay," Jason answered simply. He turned to Dick then, his eyes brimming with anger, the steel of his resolve shining in his eyes again. "But I'm going to make a promise to you, Dickie," Jason said, his tone regaining some of its former steel, "When we find Ra's, I _will_ kill him."


	15. Lord of the Flies

Roy swung through the air on his grapple, garbed in the famous black and red of Arsenal. He was making a few rounds in Gotham tonight, keeping up the search for Kaden. It had been two weeks now since he'd been kidnapped and that night still rubbed him the wrong way; of all people to kidnap him, it _had_ to be Cheshire. Cheshire, whom he once knew more intimately as Jade Nguyen, mother of their daughter Lian Harper. His ex-wife. They were only married a little over a year when he woke up to a screaming Lian and a "Dear John" letter on the kitchen countertop.

Obtaining an annulment proved to be harder than he had initially thought; since she couldn't be found to serve notice, he had to get permission from the courts to post notice in the courthouse of his divorce. When she hadn't shown up, he had to follow every procedure to show he did everything in his power to find her. It proved to be difficult, but the judge dissolved his marriage in the end with an annulment with full custody of Lian.

It proved to be the best decision he made as he eventually found the love and affection he'd been longing for with his two best friends in the whole world - Dick and Jason. It wasn't by any means a conventional relationship, but it was a relationship built on love and respect; best of all, he didn't have to worry about being kicked to the curb - something he thought about when he was with Jade.

Finding Jade was one of the reasons he was out here. She disappeared almost nineteen years ago without so much as a word, only to come back and kidnap _his son?!_ He needed to know why. For the last few days, he'd been calling every single one of his contacts looking for any information on his ex's whereabouts. He tried luring her out by making himself a bright red beacon of trouble in the middle of Gotham. He tried hacking all of the radio frequencies he knew she used. So far, a big fat nada. Nothing. He was so frustrated that he nearly broke his Oneida Kestrel the other day. It seemed that when Jade wanted to disappear, not one person was going to find her unless she _wanted_ to be found.

Roy fired a line to a shorter building across wide alley. Attaching the line securely, he swung his bow over the line and began to zip line across. As he neared the other shorter building's roof, Roy gave a shout of surprise as he felt the line break; thinking quickly, he used the leftover momentum to roll onto the roof, landing hard enough that he couldn't control the direction. He rolled into an air vent and groaned, rubbing his head. That...that hurt. He was going to need to invest in one of those helmets Jason wore if he kept getting getting knocked about all the time. _Damn_. He carefully sat up, silently pulling a knife from his boot, scouring the roof for his attacker. He quickly turned to the left and threw the knife at the small _swish_ he heard, giving himself a mental fist pump when he heard it hit flesh.

Then, he sneered when walked a few paces and saw in whom his knife had embedded. _Cheshire_. Of course, he was out here to find her, but he still held a great deal of anger towards her. The woman was crouched on the edge of the building he'd landed on, wearing a dark green kimono and knee high black boots and black gloves. Her dark hair ran down to the small of her back like a river of night, the white Cheshire Cat mask grinning at him.

"Well hello lover boy. Long time, no see," she purred, standing up to her full height, holding her shoulder. "I heard you were looking for me. Miss me? So sweet," she mocked. Roy growled and got up to his feet, aiming his bow and nocking an arrow.

"Jade, what the _hell_ is wrong with you?! Were you trying to kill me?" Roy snarled angrily. Jade tsked, wagging her finger as she pushed her mask up off her face to rest on top of her head. She grinned at him and shrugged her shoulders, wincing at the knife dug in.

"Now, now, is that any way to greet your wife?" she teased. Roy spit on the ground and loosed an arrow; she remained motionless, her expression unchanged as it whizzed past her head.

"You're. Not. My. Wife!" Roy spat.

"Oh, I'm not?" she asked with a smirk, pulling a gold ring out of her kimono, attached to a silver chain.

"No, you're not. You weren't there, so when you didn't show up for court, they sided with me and cut you loose. We're done, Jade," Roy said, matter-of-factly. Jade's stance stiffened as he continued. "Nineteen years, Jade! Nineteen years! You left me alone to raise our daughter by myself! You remember her? You remember Lian?!" Roy growled. He slashed his arm through the air, taking a threatening step toward her. "No, you probably don't since the decision to leave us was so goddamned easy for you!" Jade was silent for a time, watching him with an expression even more blank than her mask.

"How is Lian?" she asked softly. Roy flinched slightly, detecting a bit of sincerity, but he spit on the ground at her feet and trained an arrow on her again.

"You don't get to ask that! You lost the right to when you took off!"

"That doesn't mean I didn't have eyes on her," Jade hissed in reply, ripping out Roy's knife, making a face at it before drawing her sai.

They dug their heels in, staring each other down in silence. Roy had his bow trained on her, arrow at the ready, and she had both sai at the ready. Then, a sai whistled through the air at Roy, who rolled to the side to avoid the deadly sai and loosed an arrow in counter attack. Jade front flipped onto the roof proper, gaining ground and avoiding the attack, rushing in at Roy to close the distance. Roy ducked back and rapidly fired arrows at her, the last of which was a bolas arrow. All missed as she ducked and weaved past them, closing in on Roy.

As she closed in, she thrust a sai towards Roy's stomach; he dodged to the side at the last possible moment, avoiding the full impact of the attack. However, the longest blade of the three-pronged sai grazed his side, gouging into his body armor and dragging a long slash across his side. Roy cursed loudly, instinctively clamping his hand over the wound. He didn't have time to fret over it, as Cheshire was closing in for another attack. She lifted her arm to strike him, but Roy grasped the end of his Kestrel and swung it like a bat at her, forcing her to either get hit in the face with a near four pound bow backed with velocity or move. She gasped and ducked back.

"One would think you loved that bow more."

"Chesh, this is my slowest bow. I have it just for you, babe," he sneered, "My two fastest are reserved for the fucker who has my son."

" _Your son_?" she spat out. She barked a laugh, "Your son? I believe the two eldest Bat spawns were married. He can't possibly be _your son_." She threw shurikens at Roy to punctuate the last two words.

He ducked, shot arrows to counter. "Yea, well. News flash. I'm dating them." He ducked a few more shurikens, but the last hit home in his shoulder.

He hissed, "Motherfucker." He looked up, noting Jade had swiftly pulled her mask down. _Uh oh, I'm in trouble_. Suddenly, she vanished. _Fuck, I hate it when she does this. I hate it when Dick does this._

Then she was on him, delivering a powerful kick, sending him flying backwards into the air vent again. She pulled out her sai and rushed in again, giving Roy no time to recover. The archer got to his feet just in time to see her coming, deflecting a sai strike with his hand, but she countered by using his weight against him and throwing him over her head. He landed on his feet as she brought the sai down, stabbing his shoulder. He let out a pained cry as he kicked her away, picking his bow up and began to rapidly fire arrows.

Cheshire ducked and weaved the arrows, having played this game many times before, and caught up to Roy who was moving backwards as he fired. Roy readied his bow as a melee weapon as she came in and unleashed a furious chain of strikes as fast as lighting, blade flashing in the darkness and dragging several long, red angry lines across Roy's body, tearing through his Kevlar. Roy countered by swinging his bow, but Cheshire's vicious assault knocked him off balance, leaving him wide open; she batted the bow aside and delivered a powerful blow to his stomach, then an upward blow to his jaw, finishing with a spin kick to his head, sending him spiraling to the ground, his bow flying free from his hands and sailing across the roof top.

Before he could recover, Jade pinned him to the ground, planting her foot on his chest. She pulled her mask up again and leaned in closely, pressing the sai against his throat. Roy glared at her, silently daring her to do it. Instead, she pulled away and walked to the edge of the roof.

"Don't come looking for me again," she said, pulling the mask down smoothly, then jumping off the edge of the building, vanishing into the night. Roy groaned and pushed himself onto his feet, spitting blood onto the rooftop. He grabbed his bow gingerly and moved to the edge of the building, rubbing his jaw and looked around. She'd vanished.

._._._.

Day fifteen. Day fucking fifteen. That's how long he has been in this damn hell hole known as Ra's Fun House. Oh, let's not forget three days ago he went from his more comfy - if not prissy - lodgings to the literal hole-in-the-wall again. Just for wanting a bit of exercise outdoors.

 _Fuckers._

He hadn't even had a bath or shower in those three days. Not to mention he still felt miserable about his haircut. Ugh, his hair. _His hair._ What the hell did he do to deserve a stuffy ass haircut like a crew cut? Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. He was dirty. He was disgusting. He. Was. _Miserable_.

Kaden faced the wall, curled on the tiny bed, his breakfast untouched at the foot of the bed. He tugged on his now _much_ shorter hair and ruminated on his situation. A part of him starting to fear that his family would never find him, that he'd end up the bastard's captive indefinitely or until he decided Kaden was of no further use and disposed of him. The latter thought, he tried to avoid at all costs. Death was always a downer and nothing could ever pick you up when you were thinking about your own damn death. He tried avoiding the former because that...that's just too damn depressing. Plus, his parents weren't like that. They wouldn't ever stop looking for him. At least, he was 99.999% sure. Days like today - when he desperately missed his parents and it was colder than hell in the basement - were the 0.001% he doubted. Kaden was ripped from his thoughts when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He jumped to his feet, puffing up his chest, bringing out all of his anger and defiance. He wasn't going to let these bastards see him miserable and depressed! Fuck that!

Three assassins came into view moments later; their weapons sheathed and looking completely nonthreatening, not that Kaden trusted them for a minute.

"Come," one ordered. The other held out a towel and a fresh set of clothes to Kaden to examine - a black and red trimmed gi with matching satin slippers. He quirked an eyebrow. An odd choice, but he couldn't complain considering the state of his current attire.

"You are to bathe and then meet with Ra's Al Ghul in his study. Come," the assassin repeated. Kaden wanted to argue, God did he want to argue, but...a hot bath...that was just _far_ too tempting. So Kaden reluctantly followed the assassins, two on each side of him and the third behind him. Kaden was no fool; considering the disaster that was his last escape attempt, he wasn't going to test fate a second time. At least, not yet.

The assassins led him into a large bathing room; the place was scrubbed spotless, painted a sterile white with a large marble counter and sink with a full length mirror to the side. The large portrait windows let in light he desperately longed for, but were barred to ward off escape attempts. _Well, there goes that idea_ , he thought. His gaze found the tub and he instantly relaxed. A huge soaker tub that could fit at least three people stood in the middle, filled with hot water and bubbles. On the lip of tub near the nozzle, fancy shampoo, conditioner, loofah and body wash waited.

"Are you guys going to watch me make love to the tub?" Kaden asked.

The assassins holding his gi and towels had the dignity to raise a brow, laid the towels and outfit neatly on the counter and walked out. "You have twenty minutes," he replied curtly, before shutting Kaden in.

"Who pissed in his rice this morning?" he muttered, before shucking off his days old clothes and unceremoniously tossing his shoes to the side and nearly jumping into the tub. _Bliss_.

 _Now if only I could have a fucking bath every day. I'd even settle for a damn shower_ , he thought as he scrubbed his toes clean. How did his toes get so dirty? Oh yea, from his escape attempt; he had forgotten to wear shoes. _Bright idea, Kaden, escaping without shoes on. That was real smart. You dumb ass._

He had just washed the rest of the conditioner out when he heard a knock on the door. He really could have used more water - the water was _filthy_. The teen growled to himself and hopped out of the tub, grabbing the towel and drying off. The knock came again and he glared at the door menacingly.

"Would you hold on a goddamn minute! I'm getting dressed for fuck's sake!" Kaden shot at the door, pulling on the gi and new slippers that Ra's had provided him. It was a bit big for him, but only a little, and it was quite comfortable. A gi though? Really? That seemed a bit odd of a choice for attire. He stepped out and the assassins formed around him, watching him like a hawk as they led the teen to Ra's' study. Kaden could only wonder what the mad man wanted from him _now_.

The door swung smoothly open as Kaden entered the room, but Ra's was nowhere to be seen. He turned to ask, but the assassins had disappeared, the door firmly shut behind him. The teen frowned as he explored the study, looking for any sign of Ra's, but he could find none. Confused, the teen sat down in the chair in front of the desk and waited patiently, taking the time to study the room around him more.

The window had been left wide open, giving him a perfect opportunity to escape, but that was _far_ too easy. It _had_ to be a trap. Was this some kind of test? To see what he would do? Driven by curiosity, Kaden pushed himself up from the chair and padded through the room, digging through drawers, the closet, rummaging around through everything he could find, seeking out information. He didn't know what he'd find, but any information he could glean on Ra's or the League would be of value to him; he knew very little about either as he wasn't educated on either. His family thought it was information that was too dangerous for him to know about; he understood in a way, but not knowing shit unfortunately meant he had no upper hand. He had no idea how to one up these guys.

Unfortunately, he found many papers with money transactions - something he was only just learning about from Tim, the locks he had on the first few days, unmarked maps of Gotham and Bludhaven and letters written frustratingly in a language he couldn't read, though the symbols looked close to those seen on the locks. Frustrated, and with Ra's still absent from the room, he padded toward the door. He hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached out for the handle. To his surprise, the door opened with ease. He poked his head out, but he couldn't spot a single soul anywhere. That feeling of apprehension and unease settled heavier in his stomach.

 _No one's here_ , a little voice in his brain said impatiently, _let's get out of here like Kid Flash!_ He quietly padded out of the room and down the hall, senses on high alert. He swore the house was _never_ this quiet. Ever. Everything in this damn house made noise. The pipes creaked and groaned when water went anywhere. The wood floors creaked even if you used the lightest pressure. The windows quarreled with the wind daily. The minions to the devil would pick fights with each other when he was in the gilded cage outside his door, trying to one up each other. Even the dust that basked in sunbeams seemed to make some sort of noise to him.

The floor creaked beneath him and he jumped, looking up and around for anyone beside himself. _Only myself, dumb ass._ He pressed on, carefully descending the three stairs to the foyer.

 _Five more steps to the door. Five more steps_...

He grasped the heavy wooden door's elegantly curved handle gently and swallowed audibly. He chanced a quick look around, then firmly pushed the handle down...and quickly released the handle, throwing himself onto the ground with a small yelp as a throwing knife embedded itself into the door, not one inch from where his head was just a few seconds earlier.

Kaden took a second to collect himself, then carefully looked around for a source. Seeing none, he slowly stood up, back towards the door and slowly made for the knife. He extracted the knife with a loud _thunk_. He went for the handle again and just as he was about to touch the handle, he turned quickly, blocking Ra's attack head-on. He hadn't known where Ra's had come from; but the slight swish of the silk robes from behind him had given him away. Ra's advanced on him with his katana, pushing him towards a corner, while Kaden held him off with nothing more than kunai with at most a four, five inch blade. It was a blade meant to create a means to scale walls, open doors and windows, or even be a wedge, but not fight off an ancient man skilled in swordsmanship holding a much bigger blade.

Kaden needed to use more than the kunai to get out of the corner he was being backed into. He parried the next attack, then deflected to the right, giving him room to fight in the small foyer. Ra's smirked, and they continued for some time advancing, parrying and deflecting, until Kaden tried to make for the door handle again.

"Oomph. _Shit_ ," he muttered after regaining his breath. He had been thrown roughly into the foyer stairs, kunai thrown where he couldn't see. Acid green eyes bore into his as he looked up; Ra's stood over him, the sharp edge of the katana digging into Kaden's neck. He knew just from feel alone that his left arm was bleeding. He tried desperately to regain his composure, but those eyes were seriously freaking him the fuck out. Not to mention the sword.

"Well, well, well, the boy does show promise," Ra's said slowly, enunciating each word over Kaden's body as the teen struggled to regain composure. Ra's smiled devilishly as he watched his grandson struggled to put on a brave face, but instead cycled between shit scared and humiliation. He slowly took the katana away from his grandson's neck, then stepped to the side, walking up the stairs calm as ever. He tossed the katana at his hip at Kaden's feet without a word. Then, he disappeared.

"Again. This time, no mistakes," he seemed to say from everywhere and no where at once.

Kaden glanced down at the sword, then back up at Ra's, picking it up. He stepped sure-footedly down the hall, also retrieving the kunai as he found it, listening to everything around him as Damian and his family taught. He was going to beat up that son of a bitch, all he needed was the sound of the silks. He felt a slight wind from the left and released the kunai, striking nothing but the wall.

 _Damn that bastard_ , he thought. _Damn that fucking, psychotic, no good —_

"GAAAAAAAH! FUCK!" he roared in Arabic as Ra's landed on top of him, pinning his injured right arm beneath him. Kaden let the katana in his left go, reached up and dug the sharp fingernails into Ra's bare ankles, scratching all the way down. Ra's reared back in surprise.

Kaden roared at Ra's as he shoved the man back as he stood and picked up the katana with both hands, albeit gingerly with his right. Surprised, Ra's stumbled back a bit, put on the defensive as Kaden whipped his sword into a flashing frenzy of offensive strikes. _Screw you old man, I know how to play too_ Kaden thought to himself, simultaneously thanking Damian for all those 'pointless sword lessons' he'd been forced to contend with. They weren't feeling so pointless now, and he felt a swell of pride at the man's surprised look. Alas, his furious offense didn't last long; Ra's recovered from the shock of Kaden's surprising display of skill and parried one of the boy's blows, aiming a kick at his shin, whirling around him and kicking him in the back, sending him stumbling forward.

"Interesting. So that worthless family of yours taught you something useful after all," Ra's taunted back in Arabic. Kaden growled at the insult to his family and whirled around to face his opponent, both hands gripping the hilt tightly, despite the shoulder wound protesting with fury.

"Yeah, they gave me the skills I'd need to _kick your ass,_ " Kaden growled angrily, rushing in at Ra's again. The man grinned devilishly as he matched blades with the teen.

"There it is again; that insipid anger! So much like your father. It disgusts me," Ra's hissed in response, outmaneuvering Kaden again, sending him tumbling forward as he whirled behind the boy again. Kaden growled under his breath, heaving a sigh as he turned, calming his mind. "Boy, I have been dueling for six hundred years. You will have to do _much better_ if you wish to best me."

Kaden snorted and charged again; Ra's blocked the attack, batting Kaden's sword aside and retaliating with an upward slash. The blade dragged a line up Kaden's chest, just scratching the skin, leaving an angry red line through his torn gi. Kaden hissed in pain, stumbling back as the light wound burned like fire. He looked up at Ra's who was grinning like the devil. Kaden scowled and charged at him again, and again, Ra's outmaneuvering him each time, stepping aside and tripping him up, dragging another angry red line up his back.

Kaden stumbled onto his hands and knees, nearly falling to the floor as pain seared up his back. As he got to his feet and turned, Ra's delivered a few more strokes of his sword, leaving another three marks; two on his right side and one on his left. Overcome with pain, Kaden collapsed to the floor, dropping his blade, the metal clattering against the floor.

Ra's looked down at the teen with a smug grin, and gestured to what appeared to be an empty hallway; to his dismay, assassins slinked out of every shadow, two wordlessly hauling the teen onto his feet. Ra's gripped the boy's chin tightly, forcing their eyes to meet.

"You have skill. With time and training, I _will_ turn you into the perfect killing machine," he said in a low, menacing tone. Kaden snorted softly, glaring defiantly up at the man.

"Fat chance, old hag. _God forbid_ you suffocate while you wait for _that_ to happen," Kaden snapped back, flashing a cocky smirk. Ra's grinned back at him and patted his cheek.

"You will come around, one way or another," he replied. He gestured up the stairs toward the bedroom Kaden had been kept in previously. "Take him away," Ra's demanded, drawing a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping the blood from his blade.

Fifteen days. Fifteen fucking days stuck in this fucking hell hole, run by the fucking devil, filled with his fucking little demons. He was having so. much. _fun._


	16. Poison

Roy grunted in pain as he sagged off of his motorcycle and used the cave's walls for support to guide himself into the Cave proper. His vision had started blurring the minute he had parked and the one hand clamped over the angry red wounds that were oozing blood on his side were doing little to stop the bleeding. His teeth clenched as a lance of pain shot through his arm. _Poison_.

Poison was Jade's signature, jellyfish poison being her favorite. When they were married, she had taught him a great deal of the poisons she used, but she never divulged the various species of jellyfish she used for her sai. He knew she used a few and it depended on the target; he did know box jellyfish was saved for those she _wanted_ to watch bleed out because only with the box jellyfish do you bleed out in _four minutes_. No matter how he tried - bribery with gifts, romantic dates, even trying to outright steal samples - he never learned the species of jellyfish. It was vital for knowing what medications to store. So, he had taken to just storing everything for the top four he knew he could treat. Box jellyfish poison would be a hopeless cause; there is nothing to effectively treat box jellyfish poison. He could treat the symptoms, but he'd basically bleed out. There was only the one study about using zinc gluconate and he wasn't about to put all of his faith on that. Sea nettles were nothing but a nuisance for the most part. Painful, but not fatal. The Lion's Mane jellyfish, Portuguese Man O' War and the Irukandji jellyfish were the three he had to worry about. All three could kill him. He made sure to keep every safe house, his home, Jason and Dick's home, the Wayne manor all stocked with every antivenom known to man and in vast quantities.

Damn that woman. Damn _him_ for forgetting her love of all things poisonous. He should have _known_ better, should have come better prepared. _Dammit._ He looked around the Cave, struggling to stay conscious. He grunted with effort as he dragged himself toward the medical area. He was at least grateful that no one appeared to be around. Dick and Jason especially; they'd _kill_ him they'd found out what he-

"Roy?! What the _hell_ happened to you?!" He looked up and tried to pinpoint where he heard Jason's yell coming from. Roy glanced up to see two blurry figures rushing to his side. He gave a little smirk in response, cursing mentally. _Of all the rotten luck,_ he thought before he stumbled to the ground, the colors starting to swirl together. He could hear Dick's and Jason's worried voices above him and no matter how hard he blinked, the colors kept growing darker and smudgier. His mind felt like a swamp and his entire body felt like he was trying to navigate that swamp. He felt Jason and Dick's arms wrap around his waist, hauling him up and all but dragging him over him over to the medical bay. Roy tried to suck in sharply as Jason started cutting off his gear, the torn Kevlar sticking to the wounds slightly, but his brain and body seemed to be working against each other. Just like he knew Dick was trying to get his attention - he could feel the wind of the hand being waved in front of him - but he couldn't seem to get his lips working to respond. Words were starting to become muffled. And then...things started clearing up. It started slowly, then a pop in his ear followed by sharp, ringing pain in his ears - not to mention his head - as everything seemed to clear up.

"arhsdk, Jay, how much more antivenom do you think he'll need? The fourth bottle is almost gone and we only have four more here."

"I don't know, love. The bleeding has gone down, but he hasn't woken up yet. His vitals are stabilizing, but he's too unstable to talk if he wakes up. He'll bleed out I suspect. I'll go home and get the ten we have." Wait, _how many_ had he gone through? He heard Jason leave - he knew it was him by the sound of his boots - and he let out a soft groan. Or tried to, he wasn't sure if it was in his head or out loud.

"Hey, welcome back," Dick replied, making sure to keep his voice quiet. Roy appreciated it and gave a weak smile. "Don't try to talk right now. You've lost a lot of blood from whatever you've been poisoned with."

"Ch-" Roy started, inhaling sharply as he felt wounds bleed anew and pain return; the antivenin must have run out.

"What did I say about talking? You're too unstable right now. I'm going to put in another antivenom in your fluids. This is going to hurt." Dick had prepared the fifth bottle ahead of time, so all that he needed to do was push a sterile needle in, take out the amount needed, push out the air bubbles and inject the antivenom into Roy's fluid bag. Roy hissed weakly as the first hits of antivenom entered his bloodstream. Dick smoothed down Roy's hair and said, "I think you can have some aspirin if you want it. I know you won't want any opiates considering your addiction."

Opiates sounded good right about now. Really, _really_ good. Vicodin, Morphine, Heroin, Tramadol, _Percocet_. Percocet would be really nice or even Fentanyl...but he promised he wouldn't go down that road. Dammit, he'd have to live with a damn aspirin. He nodded weakly and Dick brought him two with some water. He let Dick put the aspirin in his mouth and he used the provided straw to swallow the water down, grimacing at the taste.

"Sorry I can't give you anything stronger. Try to sleep now. I'll be right here when you wake up," Dick said soothingly with a small smile, taking a hand and gently placing his finger through Roy's thick wavy hair, his thumb massaging the temple where his head hurt most.

"I...love..you," Roy muttered before closing his eyes, falling asleep. Dick continued to massage his temple and jaw, hushing him and bringing him back to sleep whenever he woke, cringing in pain.

Roy squinted, the bright light searing his eyes, God knows how many minutes or hours later. All he knew was a. that light was fucking bright, and b. he was on something _incredibly_ and _amazingly_ soft and he wanted to be on it forever.

"You're lucky to be alive you _fucking idiot_ ," Jason said threateningly from the chair next to him.

"Jay, give him a chance to wake up before you jump down his throat."

"I'll give him a chance...after I find out why the hell we had to use ten bottles of _jellyfish_ _antivenom_ on him!"

" _JASON_!"

"Gee, I feel so loved," Roy said weakly, throat scratchy. Jason stormed over to him from his spot by the window - oh wait, he knew where he was! Jason's and Dick's shared room at the Manor! No wonder the bed was Heaven - and sat unceremoniously on the end table closest to Roy, nearly knocking over a water bottle. Dick joined him, sitting gently on the bed. Dick checked Roy's pulse and felt his forehead, his face carefully schooled into neutrality, and opened the water bottle Jason nearly tipped over.

"Here. Don't drink too much at once. No need for you to puke as well as bleed out everywhere in one day."

"How long was I out?"

"Eight hours, give or take," Jason replied, "You started to get serum sickness on the third vial, so we had to treat you for that, as well as the venom. We thought we lost you a few times." Dick nodded from his place on the bed, gently taking the bottle from him. Roy averted his gaze, realizing for the first time how close he was to making Lian an orphan. _Stupid. Stupid and reckless!_ Roy berated himself mentally.

Dick furrowed his brows, the first expression he'd probably seen on him since, well, right after Kaden was taken. "Why did you look for Cheshire _alone_ , Roy? You knew what she what she was capable of. Why...why didn't you just get one of us to come with you? Damian, Bruce, Jay, _hell_ , even me?"

"Look...I just thought I...could talk to her. Get her to come around... and tell us where Kaden is," Roy admitted sheepishly, fingers twiddling. He glanced up at the two of them. "I mean...we loved each other... _once_. I thought maybe that would have mattered to her, but..." Roy paused, giving a weary sigh as he sank his back into the propped up pillows and scrubbed his face with his hands carefully, mindful of his stitches. "Obviously it wasn't enough." Dick and Jason exchanged glances, then looked back to Roy; the man looked and sounded both sad and disappointed, and they realized that a piece of him must still love Cheshire.

Jason sighed, pulled a hand through his hair and leaned over to cup Roy's cheek, foreheads meeting. "It's not your fault Kaden is missing, Roy." He stroked Roy's cheek warmly, kissed his forehead and left their room. Dick sighed as he watched his husband leave, and picked up Roy's right hand warmly, stroking it unconsciously, before looking back at Roy, smile wane.

"He's just...stressed."

"It doesn't mean he can shoulder everything or –"

"I know. I've told him to talk with Dinah, but he won't talk to her. He thinks he can do this without Hooding out. But –"

"He's all ready done that?"

Dick shakes his head, sighing. "No, not exactly. Bruce, being the callous ass he can be, asked Jason to look into his contacts to see if he could find anything."

"So, that's why Jason needed to convince Black Jack that he –"

"You _knew_? And you didn't _tell me_?! Roy!" Dick interjected. "I love you and Jay to death, but -" he sighed, bringing both hands to massage the bridge of his nose, "Aaaagh, I'm not talking with this. I'm not - what's done is done. I've talked to Jay about it. I have enough to worry about right now. I'm close to losing my job, one of my husbands is close to a mental breakdown, and the other is trying to get himself killed by chasing an ex. And if that wasn't enough, my daughter is in Star City sliced up in pieces, Star will not leave the Batcave because that's the place she knows her person comes home safe these days, and, let's not forget my son is _still missing_!" Dick's voice grew progressively louder as he said each statement until he was yelling, pulling on his hair, then stormed out of the room, brushing passed Alfred and into one of the Cave's spare rooms, where Bruce usually slept when he was decided he wasn't going to come up top to sleep. He collapsed onto one of the cots and screamed into the pillow, dug the heels of his hands into his eyes and tried to stave off the tears. He was so sick and tired of being everyone's damn rock! A cold, wet nose nudged his forearm and he moved a hand.

"Hey, girl. Come here." He opened his arms and a seventy pound, chestnut with black shading dog jumped up and plopped unceremoniously on top of him, all 75 pounds landing squarely on his chest. She whined softly and looked up at Dick with big, soulful brown eyes. He sniffed and pet her slowly.

"I know, girl. I miss him too." He gasped in some air and tears fell. He could allow himself to break down with Star. She couldn't tell him false hopes or lies. Star scooted further up and nestled herself on his shoulder, one paw going up to his chest. She couldn't help find her human as she couldn't find the scent, but she _could_ help comforting her other pack.

After some time to collect himself and his thoughts, and with help from Star, Dick dried his eyes and pushed at Star's shoulders gently. He and Bruce needed to have a chat about The Red Hood's network, and his brilliant idea to send Jason back to a place he'd left behind. To say he was less than pleased would be an understatement; he was _furious_. However, he'd try and keep his cool because the last thing the manor needed was more anger. "Okay, Star, _Star_ , I know you love me, but you gotta get off. You're _heavy_." Star lifted her head and tilted it. "Yea, you, dog. You're heavy. Come on, get off." Star refused to budge. "Star, I mean it. _Get off_. My legs are getting numb." Star blinked slowly, licked her chops, then started kissing his face, causing Dick to start laughing.

"Come on, Staaaaaar. I mean it! I need to talk to Bruce!" he said, laughing. Finally, Star seemed to get the picture, stood up, two paws on Dick's pecs, one on his bladder and the other on the cot and hopped down. "Gee, thanks for sparing my bladder, dog. I feel so loved."

Dick began going over the conversation in his head as he made for Bruce's study, trying to keep his head in the process. Without so much as a knock, Dick pushed the door open.

"Bruce, we need to-" Dick trailed off when he saw Selina with him, the two of them sitting together on a love seat beside a bookcase. Selina, for her part, seemed to have aged well; her dark hair contained only a few strands of noticeable silvers, and few age lines marked her face. Despite her years, she still looked to be in her early forties at best. The two of them glanced up at Dick, surprised a little by the sudden intrusion. Dick blushed a little, wondering what he'd walked in on. Selina flashed a smile at him and got up from the love seat, patting Bruce's shoulder.

"It was nice to see you again, Bruce. Let's do this again sometime," Selina said smoothly, cupping his cheek and kissing his brow. She sauntered out of the room with her usual grace and poise, pride and elegance in every step, giving Dick a pat on the shoulder before leaving the two of them behind.

"You could have knocked first," Bruce said gruffly, clearing his throat as he moved across the room to sit at his desk. Dick glanced over his shoulder after Selina, closing the door then turning back to Bruce. He wanted to ask, but there was a more important matter at hand. He found his frown, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What were you thinking, sending Jason after his old contacts?! You're aware he left those behind when he abandoned the Red Hood, right?" Dick asked, keeping his tone even. Bruce cleared his throat as he started working on his computer, glancing over at Dick.

"I am. But – "

"But what?! Why was it so important to jeopardize my husband's mental health? To throw his progress off track?! Why?!" Dick growled, his temper getting the better of him. Bruce glared at him and ceased whatever work he had been about to do.

"We needed the information, Dick. With Kaden missing, information from the underworld would be invaluable!" Bruce replied defensively. Dick cursed, pacing the room a bit as he scrubbed his face with his hands.

"Dammit Bruce, you're always thinking about the mission! What about Jason?! What about _your son?!_ Do you realize what you've done?!" Dick snapped back. Bruce heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"The Red Hood's information network is extremely valuable – " Bruce went on. Dick interrupted him, slamming his hands down on the desk and shooting him a scathing glare.

" _Jason. Is. Your. Son_." Dick growled, enunciating each word slowly to make his point crystal clear. "You jeopardized his mental state for some information?! Dammit Bruce, I found Jason standing in front of his old Red Hood costume –"

"He was the Red Hood, whether we want to deny it or not – "

"He burned it to move on from his past, _Bruce_! We asked for _all of them_!"

"We _never_ forget our old selves, Dick. You know that. That's why we have every costume in –"

" – in a glass case? To remind of him of his failures in his eyes, Bruce? Then, where are _my_ outfits, Bruce?" Bruce pinched his nose, and took in a deep breath. Dick was just blowing off steam. He could handle this.

" _Dick."_

"Don't _Dick_ me. I am not _your Robin_. I am a police officer who nightlights as Nightwing, with a child missing, a husband on the verge of another psychotic break and the other who just went out and nearly got himself killed with jellyfish poison. I. Am. _Not. Your. Golden. Boy_ ," Dick snarled, turning and storming out of the study, pausing only to open the door and slam it. Bruce sat, stunned for a minute; he had had suspicions of Jason or Dick having an affair, not the two of them having one together with the same person _at the same time_. He pulled the Cave footage up and started scrolling through it, wanting to confirm his suspicions. Those two only had one person in common they'd both willingly have a relationship with - Roy. Roy also had an ex-wife who was an expert in jellyfish poison. He paused it at 4:15 A.M.: the exact time the Cave's cameras picked up Roy muttering "I love you" to Dick.

._._._.

Barbara heaved an exasperated sigh as another sleepless night in the Clock Tower turned up absolutely nothing. Again. Whatever Ra's was up to, whatever he wanted Kaden for, he had clearly gone to _extreme_ lengths not to be found. Was it possible he wasn't even in Gotham? He definitely wasn't at Nanda Parbat; that was the first place _everyone_ had thought to look. From there, they systematically eliminated each of Ra's known bases across the globe. They restricted their search to Gotham and Bludhaven shortly thereafter; Bruce was convinced that Ra's was nearby, hiding in plain sight, but Barbara wasn't entirely convinced. He could be _anywhere_ for all they knew, but with the complete lack of evidence and clues, _nowhere_ started to seem more accurate.

"Damn, still nothing,' Barbara hissed as another lead came to a dead end. Barbara shook her head and wheeled away from the computer, across the room to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup of coffee. She slept last night, so tonight would be an all-nighter. She was certain Bruce, Dick, Jason, Roy, her father, hell, _everyone_ , would tell her to take a break and rest. However, her nephew was missing, and he needed to be found. _Now._ Sleep could wait. With her coffee in hand, Barbara wheeled back over to her computer when her phone rang. Barbara checked it; it was her father. She put it on speaker while she got back to work.

"Hi, Dad. Shouldn't you be in bed, resting?" Barbara asked, smiling at the phone. Jim snorted from the other end.

"I'm fine Barbara. How about you? Shouldn't _you_ be sleeping?" he asked. Barbara chuckled a bit, glancing at the phone before turning her full attention back to the computer.

"Everything's great Dad," she lied. There was a pause where she heard nothing but the sound of her own dad's wheels meaning he was pacing with his wheelchair; he wasn't buying a damn word she was saying. Many injuries on the force had given his legs a beating and arthritis, so a few years ago the old man officially needed a wheelchair. He had been walking with a cane for years before that, but his knees had started giving out; he had been a tough nut to crack, but he finally gave in and looked into wheelchairs. He cackled when he qualified for an electric wheelchair, meaning for the first time in about a decade Jim Gordon could "outrun" Barbara Gordon again. Babs didn't have the heart to tell him she also owned an electric-powered wheelchair, she just didn't use it when she went to the Tower.

"Mhm. I suppose it doesn't have anything to do with Kaden Todd-Grayson being missing?" Jim asked after the pause. Barbara ceased working, picked up the phone and turned off the speakerphone before putting it to her ear.

"He's not miss –"

"I'm a detective, Barbara. A retired one that has wheels now, but I'm still a detective. He's missing, isn't he? Not 'recovering' at home from a 'traumatic injury'," Jim snorted as he recited from several newspapers. Barbara heaved a sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Why did her father have to be so damn good at what he did?

"You win, Dad. Yes, he's _missing_. But Dad, we've got this. Let us handle this. You're –"

"Old? I don't need you to remind me. Damn joints and back are a constant reminder," he replied with a chuckle of amusement. Barbara giggled. "But listen, baby girl, if you need a hand –"

"I know. I can always count on you Daddy," Barbara replied sweetly. Jim chuckled a bit on the other end of the phone.

"I still have some connections in the GCPD. It couldn't hurt to have a few extra eyes on this."

"I know, I know. The problem is the press," Barbara answered, to which Jim snorted, "Wait...could you run interference with the Press and GCPD? You used to really good at that," she said with a grin. Jim chuckled amusedly, followed by a pause.

"Sure thing. I have some pull with the GCPD. And the press is easily distracted. Count on it, baby girl. Now get some sleep. Can't have my favorite hacker falling asleep and causing the world to explode now."

"I'll try, Daddy. Good night."

"Night princess." Barbara waited until the line went dead before the hung up and went back to work.

"There's gotta be something. Everyone leaves a trail. _Everyone_ ," Barbara said to herself as a button in the lower right hand corner of her screen started to flash red. She clicked on it and opened a message from Talia. She grinned to herself.

" _Bingo_."


End file.
